Phantom
by Ikura
Summary: When Yukiko wakes up 8 hours into Battle Royale with no memory of anything since the bus, she discovers that Yumiko has already been killed. But as her new friendship with Yoji deepens, she begins to realise that not everything is as it seems...
1. Chapter 1

----- H4

Yukiko slowly opened here eyes. She felt drowsy... and nauseous.

Then it suddenly hit her. She didn't know where she was! She was staring up at... greenery? Up at the leaves in a tree...

She sat bolt upright, gazing around frantically. She was in a forest that was bathed in gentle morning light. The sound of wind blowing through the leaves was a very calming sound, and the tranquil setting had a soporific effect on the disorientated girl. But she knew that something was very, very wrong. The last thing she could remember was sitting on the coach with Yumiko… and nothing after that…

Something had _definitely_ gone wrong…

Though she had taken in the setting quickly, the first thing that had caught her attention was the boy sitting only about a meter away from her. The boy was fairly tall, though to her, almost everyone looked tall. His hair fell down to the sides where it flicked up slightly, and two free strands hung lightly against his forehead. His thick dark eyebrows set emotionally above his sad eyes. Though he forced a smile as he looked up and saw Yukiko was awake, it was still evident that he had been crying.

"Hey, how do you feel?" he asked soothingly.

Yukiko slowly backed away over the soft grass before her back bit rough tree bark. "Yoji?"

Yoji bit his lip nervously. "Yukiko, are you OK?"

"Where am I?" the small girl cried helplessly. "What's going on?"

"You... don't remember anything?" Yoji asked, his expression returning to sadness, almost as if he had been expecting this reaction.

Yukiko shook her head. "We... we were on the bus and then... where is Yumiko?"

Yoji looked down at the ground, and exhaled deeply. Yukiko winced. She could tell it wasn't going to be good news. There was something deeply distressing about where they were. She had only just been on a coach trip... she wasn't supposed to be alone in a forest with Yoji... she barely knew him.

"Yumiko's... " Yoji began, the words catching in his throat, as if they were refusing to allow him to speak out loud. "She's... dead..."

"What?" Yukiko said, her voice a mere whisper, barely audible. Yoji wiped away a fresh tear.

"We… tried to save her… but…"

Yukiko's eyes widened. Something else had caught her eye. She was staring down, ad her chest and legs.

Blood… she was covered in fresh blood…

"But… we couldn't save her in time…" Yoji said sorofully, seemingly unaware that Yukiko wasn't paying much attention to him.

Covered in blood…

Fresh blood…

****

The Previous Day...

It was around May, and the chill of winter had already passed. Yoji was glad, as he really wasn't one for the cold. In winter, everything seemed to slow down and become dull, and he really hated it when things got stagnated.

People always seemed to be more cheerful in the summer too, and Yoji always seemed to have a better time when other people were too…

As he neared the close area to the school, he came across Niida. They both lived in the same direction from the school, and sometimes ended up walking there with each other, though Niida was normally a lot later than Yoji.

"Yo, Yoji!" he said, grinning widely, "you don't look too bad... so you actually got some shut eye? ha!"

Yoji raised his hand in an attempted wave, though it didn't really work very well. "What d'ya mean?" he said innocently.

Niida sniggered. "You had Yoshimi round last night, right?"

Yoji raised an eyebrow. "Yeah! We were..."

"Studying... yeah, sure!" Niida said, rolling his eyes.

"Hey, we were this time!" Yoji said defiantly.

"This time?" Niida chuckled, winking. "Yoji boy, you need to learn some subtlety!"

"Niida, you dick!" Yoji exclaimed cheerfully, pushing into Niida's side. Kazushi leered dangerously on the edge of the pavement, but did not fall into the road. He was far to used to this sort of reaction from Yoji to let it get the better of him even now.

Niida simply laughed loudly. "Oh, I am so getting you back for that on the trip!"

Yoji rolled his eyes. "Oh sure, what, you going to bore me to death with another lecture about why Chigusa is hotter than Yoshimi?"

"I only did that like once!" Niida protested, as the pair began to laugh.

"… Jackass!"

-----

Yoshimi and Hirono were standing by the school gate, looking slightly bored.

"Good party last night?" Yoshimi asked absent-mindedly, staring with mild interest at her nails.

Hirono shrugged. "Heh, I guess it was OK. Some stupid fucker kept trying to come onto me though..."

"Euw" Yoshimi sighed unenthusiastically, gazing up at her friend. It really made her sad how distant her and Hirono had grown in the last few years. They could barely even keep up a conversation if Mitsuko wasn't there. When they talked, it was more like an automatic reaction than a proper conversation.

"Hirono?" Yoshimi said suddenly, a little more assertively than before.

Hirono looked at her with mild surprise. "Huh?"

Yoshimi smiled. They were both being so stupid... There she was, feeling sorry about their deteriorating friendship and doing nothing about it! Well, why not do something about it at that very moment? They could still have a decent conversation, surely?

"Do you like a guy at the moment?"

Hirono seemed quite shocked at this question. It was rarely that they talked even at this level of deepness. "Well... there's..." she began, but was interrupted as Yoji and Niida appeared.

"Hey Yoji!" Yoshimi squealed, as her boyfriend approached.

Hirono sighed. So much for deep and meaningful conversation.

-----

Yukiko stood outside Yumiko's house, tapping her foot gently on the concrete pathway that lead up to it.

Sighing, she rang the doorbell again.

A window opened on the first floor, and Yumiko leaned out, grinning cheerfully. "Sorry, I'll be there in a few secs!"

Yukiko grinned and sighed, waiting patiently as the sounds of Yumiko running around gradually made their way downstairs.

The door opened, and Yumiko emerged majestically with her overnight bag slung over her shoulder.

"What was that about?" Yukiko asked gazing up at her friend, or her idol, as she so often thought of her. Yumiko was the athletic one, and stronger of the two, and generally the one people talked to more. Yukiko was just... Yukiko.

"Just slept in a bit, hey, we're nearly going to miss the bus, hurry up!" she replied, giggling, and breaking into a light jog.

Yukiko smiled, running after, though she found it slightly harder to keep up the pace.

They rounded the corner and the sight of the school bus waiting outside the school greeted them. It seemed as if everyone was already on, but thankfully the bus hadn't actually left. Hayashida was standing by the side of the bus, holding a clipboard which would obviously be the register, looking impatient.

"Hurry up girls!" he exasperated, ticking them off and ushering them onto the bus. Yumiko quickly shot Yukiko a cheesy grin, and Yukiko giggled. Hayashida was normally quite a pleasant man, as long as you didn't step out of line.

They made their way down the aisle nervously. Neither particularly wanted to end up seated next to someone like Numai or Kazuo, but as they failed to spot a single seat that was free, they began to worry. The gang tended to sit at the back... it wasn't looking too hopeful as they made their way further down the bus.

Then Yumiko turned her head and smiled. "Free two right at the back!" she said, chuckling.

"Phew!" Yukiko replied, as they both climbed into the free seats. "I wonder how long the journey will be?"

Yumiko brushed her hair back behind her ear elegantly, and placed both hands on her crossed knees. "Oh, I don't expect long. I doubt we're even going anywhere interesting..."

Yukiko giggled. "I hope not... it would be really bad if we had to sit through a boring trip"

"Or stand." Yumiko said, "I mean, museums are really interesting, but no seats..."

"Better for you" Yukiko said, "I need to sit down lots more!"

Yumiko yawned. "Yeah... I suppose. Still nice to just lie down though..."

Yukiko closed her eyes and laid back against the seat. "u-hu..."

There was no reply.

"Yumiko?" Yukiko asked slowly, rolling her head towards the seat next to her.

Yumiko was fast asleep. Yukiko was a little confused by this... they had only just got on the bus... but

... but sleep would be... sooooo

so ... ... nice to go...

... to sleep...

She rolled her head over to the other side and yawned quietly, before shutting her eyes and drifting into a pleasant and undisturbed sleep...


	2. Chapter 2

-----G7

Thankfully for Yukiko, she had been seated right next to Yumiko during the explanation of the rules by Kamon. Unfortunately though... she had been at the front.

Hayashida's body had been so close to her...

_So close..._

She wiped her eyes with her sleeve frantically as she emerged from the school building, trying to get clearer vision... tears... _too many tears..._

It seemed as if no one was around, and Yukiko was especially thankful Kazuo wasn't. He was such a cold and heartless person, and she was terrified that he would be playing. The rest of the gang too... so many people who might be prepared to kill her... to kill Yumiko too.

_No! I can't let that happen! No matter what happens... that can't..._

She came to a halt, and turned back, to face the school. Such a dark and foreboding building. It made her shiver with fear.

_Don't loose faith Yukiko_

"I won't..." she whispered. She couldn't stand by and let anyone start killing! Even if they all ended up dying within 24 hours, she had to make sure they wouldn't play. Even though she didn't think she was good at anything particularly herself, she knew that their class was one not to mess with lightly. People like Shuuya, Shinji, Yukie, Hiroki... together they would be a great team. They had their own strengths, and in combination, who could stand against them? They might only be kids, but they could still give Kamon a run for his money. And if some of the others who Yukiko was generally scared by joined them too... kids like Mitsuko, Kazuo and Kawada... then they'd be unstoppable.

All it would take would be one student to stand up and refuse to play, no matter what. It would just take one person to have the courage to stand up, in front of the line of guns and refuse to back down.

Refuse no matter what.

Yukiko stood her ground. Kuninobu would be the next student out of the building, and he was a friend of Shuuya. She could definitely trust him.

Trust... such a strange term in many ways. That was the whole point, wasn't it? Scare people into thinking they can't trust and they'll become the mindless workforce the government wanted. Everyone would fall into line and obey... that's why the resistance movements were largely ineffective. Not even those working with each other against the government could trust each other. It was the whole reason behind Battle Royale. Their class was supposed to be there now, proving it to the whole nation.

In how ever many days, the dreaded helicopter would land, and one of them would emerge. Maybe Kazuo, maybe Mitsuko, maybe Shogo. Only one. A public display of utter betrayal.

But Yukiko refused to. Trust... she had to trust anyone. Whether it was Yumiko or Mitsuko, she would trust them all. It was the only way they could hope to beat the system. The smallest shred of mistrust, and they would be finished. All of them.

Yukiko heard the sound of someone's footsteps. She took a deep breath, and prepared herself.

Yoshitoki came into the corridor that lead up to the exit. He obviously saw Yukiko's silhouette outside, as he seemed to slow down. She didn't move. She wanted to get the chance to talk to him before doing anything. For all he knew, she could be waiting to do him in, so she couldn't do anything that would appear threatening, though the thought of Yukiko actually trying to kill anyone was more than ludicrous. She couldn't hurt a fly.

"Kitano?" Yoshitoki said cautiously as he emerged.

She nodded. "Kuninobu..."

He looked around nervously, sweating heavily. In addition to the anguish he was going through because of the situation itself, he had not been expecting to find Yukiko there. He rarely talked to either her of Yumiko, though they were on friendly terms. "You... you're waiting for Kusaka?"

"For everyone." Yukiko said confidently.

Kuninobu raised an eyebrow. "... wha?"

"We have to work together!" Yukiko said, attempting to sound motivating, though her unthreatening appearance and meek voice didn't help her achieve this.

Still, her plea seemed to be working. Yoshitoki cracked his trade mark goofy grin. "... You mean it? You... think we can?" he said, his voice shaking slightly.

Yukiko nodded and giggled. "Why not? It's worth a try at least!" she said.

"Even the... bad kids?"

"Even them. Everyone..." she replied. This was turning out to be much easier than she had expected. Maybe they really would be able to convince everyone! Maybe... they could all go home...

"Mitsuko? Kiriyama? You can't be serious! We'll be shot on sight!"

Yukiko shrugged. "Maybe. But at least we will have tried."

"Yukiko!"

At the sound of her name, Yukiko turned to back to face the school. Yumiko was running at full speed towards the pair of them, her arms outstretched, tears streaming away.

_Yumiko... she's always there for me..._

"Yumiko!" Yukiko cried out joyously, as her best friend reached her, and leant down so they could hug each other.

_Yumiko..._

_The soldiers unzipped the bag with a slow and almost robotic motion._

_Yukiko didn't realise how hard her hands were gripping against the edge of the table, even when the knuckles started to turn white. She was aware of how erratic her breathing was though, deep gasping breaths as here eyes widened with morbid terror._

_The soldiers finished unzipping, and pulled away either side to reveal the contents._

_Hayashida's head hung out, his jaw still locked in a grotesque scream. The edge of his head had crumbled away, his brain slowly oozing out with occasional droplets of congealed blood that landed on the floor with a wet and dull thud. On of the eyes hung out of the festering lump of bloodied flesh, but by far, the worst part was the smell..._

_It wafted towards Yukiko, the smell of decay and rot. It chocked her..._

_A scream escaped her throat as her eyes watered with tears. Her hands gripped even harder to the table, her mouth taking more large unpredictable gulps of the air that she both needed to survive, but that made her feel sick._

_She felt something, and looked down, startled._

_Yumiko was reaching across from the desk next to her, placing her hand over her friend's coiled fist. Yukiko closed her eyes. Slowly, her breathing returned to a more normal state. She was still distressed, and she still felt sick. But she was no longer panicking._

_Turning to face Yumiko, she mouthed a silent "thank you" with her quivering lips._

_Yumiko smiled and nodded._

"Don't leave, OK?" Yukiko whispered quietly.

Yumiko smiled maternally. "I'm not going anywhere."

-----G7

"Boys #8: Yoji Kuramoto."

Yoji turned his head to the seat behind him, staring one last time at the crying Yoshimi Yahagi, the only girl who ever understood, and the only girl he had ever loved. He didn't know if they would ever see each other again. In a way, he hoped not. He didn't know what sort of things could happen in a game like this, but if they turned on each other…

… it would be worse than never seeing her again.

Tearfully, he broke the gaze, hearing her whimper helplessly behind him. Strolling forward, he was handed a bag by the faceless and nameless soldier who stood there with an iron expression. Strangely, even though the bag itself was a symbol of what they were about to all face, it was comforting to hold it at last.

Yoji strolled out of the building, whimpering softly. Up ahead stood the bleak gaping hole that was the exit from the school. He walked forward slowly, and cautiously.

_You can do this Yoji! You're a boy... no, you're a man! And men are brave. Men protect women, with their lives if need be! But you can do that... you're brave Yoji._

Yoji always took pride in how macho he thought he was. Though most people disagreed with him on this, he rarely let it bother him. After all, he was a man, and men didn't care what other people thought. Up ahead, he could begin to make out the outlines of three figures of varying height. He slowed down. _Uh-oh..._

_They're waiting for me?_

_Yoji, they're going to kill you_

Then he realised that they wouldn't be playing. Of course not! If they were, then they would be at each other's throats at that very moment! Of course! They must be friends.

_But what friends do you have? Yoshimi,KazushiandTadakatsu are still in the classroom. Who else ever liked you?_

As he made his way into the open area just outside the school, he was able to make out who the figures were. Yukiko Kitano and Yumiko Kusaka, those girls who were best friends. Always came together, like two peas in a pod. And Yoshitoki Kuninobu, friends with people like Shuuya and Mimura. The boys who tended to keep their distance from Yoji. Why on earth were they waiting for him of all people?

_They arn't waiting for you! They'll be waiting for someone after you... they don't want you here_

Yoji gulped. That was an all-too familiar situation. Most parties he had turned up for, he'd ended up feeling like he wasn't wanted. Just like now... it was as if everyone was telepathically telling him to get lost.

"Hey Yoji!" Kuninobu exclaimed, grinning widely.

Yoji stopped, and looked around nervously.

"Hey, it's OK!" Yumiko proclaimed. "We arn't going to hurt you."

"We're teaming up! Join us Yoji! None of us should have to kill..." Yukiko added.

Yoji took a deep breath.

_Look at them! All smiling at you... grinning... they have to be lying! It's a trick! It's a trap! Run Yoji!_

But something stopped him from running. Something rooted him to the spot. "You guys serious?"

The three of them nodded, a little too optimistically for Yoji. He tightened his grip on the strap of his bag.

_What if they're telling the truth?_

_We can all get out of this?_

_Yoshimi... I can make sure we both get home..._

"Yeah, you guys are right!" Yoji exclaimed happily, running forward, smiling widely.

Kuninobu would have been surprised at this dramatic change of attitude from anyone other than Yoji. The fact that it was Yoji made all the difference. "Mood-Swing Yoji" the kid who he and Shuuya tended to keep away from. Most of the class tended to do the same. The trouble being you could never predict him. One moment he'd be incredibly and insuppressibly happy, the next, enraged and furious, and even then, he could still plunge into a torrent of tears over the smallest thing. He was hardly the sort of guy Kuninobu would most want as an ally in the programme, but he wasn't about to turn anyone away, especially as he'd always thought that Yoji was a nice guy somewhere underneath the violent mood swings.

"Glad to have you on board!" Yumiko said, shaking hands with Yoji.

-----G7

"Boys #9: Hiroshi Kuronaga"

Kazuo had already been let out, and the rest of the gang didn't seem to be terribly interested in Hiroshi's departure, save maybe Mitsuru, who looked up with an expression that Hiroshi found difficult to read. He slowly sidled down the aisle with his hands in his pockets. Strangely, the thought of going out to kill his classmates hadn't really settled in, and he wasn't feeling particularly bothered.

"Come now, don't hold us up!" Kamon said, his sugary smile invoking a sense of nausea in Hiroshi.

"Alright, I'm coming already!" he said irritably.

The guard handed him a bag which he took in silence. The corridor beckoned ahead of him, and he moved forwards at his own pace. He could have moved faster, but Hiroshi wasn't one to do things just because some twat in an army uniform told him so. Kazuo was the only person he seemed to bear any respect for.

Everyone else? _Arseholes mainly... fuck em._

And so as long as Kazuo wasn't there telling him to run, Hiroshi was determined to take his time.

Up ahead was a small group. Hiroshi raised an eyebrow. _What the hell?_

Approaching without really giving off any emotion was something Yukiko found intimidating, as the figure of Hiroshi moved towards their group. There were now 5 of them, since Kotohiki had joined with them, though the poor girl looked incredibly nervous, and had been extremely non-committal.

Hiroshi sneered._ Heh... it's those two... Yukiko and the other lez. Kuninobu, Shuuya's bum chum. That random girl who does that flower arranging crap... and the faggot. Pfft, what a sponge. Can't believed he bagged Yahagi!_

"Hiroshi! We're going to team up! None of us want to play the game!" Yukiko proclaimed.

_Huh?_ Hiroshi thought sarcastically, _Are you stupid of what? Or did you just have your fingers in your ears for that entire thing?_

The others were now looking at Kuronaga, possibly for some kind of response. He signed, and started to unzip his bag. "Any of you got a lighter?" he asked casually out of the corner of his mouth. Annoyingly he couldn't find his, though he had located his cigarettes almost instantly, as usual.

The five kids standing near to him looked at each other in confusion, and Yumiko noticed that Kotohiki was attempting to hide herself at the back of the group.

Hiroshi chuckled to himself. The poor kids all looked absolutely terrified! All he'd asked for was a light. If they had been expecting some huge emotional outpouring, then they'd come to the wrong person. Especially considering most of the people in the group were girls. Hiroshi would be damned if he ever placed trust in a girl. _Can't trust the sodding things..._ He reminisced.

Something in his bag caught his eye.

A knife.

He smiled, and pulled it out.

Kotohiki gasped, and Yoshitoki took a step back unsubtly. "Hiroshi...?" whimpered Yukiko, gripping tightly to Yumiko's sleeve.

Hiroshi looked up at them. _What a bunch of pussies!_

With more speed than most people would probably have expected of him, he leapt forward with the knife outstretched in his hand. The group gasped together, Yukiko and Kotohiki screaming loudly. Before any of them had a chance to move, Hiroshi was among them, the knife in his hands thrusting forward.

It met flesh.


	3. Chapter 3

----- G7

"Run!"

It all happened so fast. Hiroshi leapt forward, and Yukiko felt something pull her back fast. The sudden movement made her loose focus on what was happening right in front of her in the few seconds she had before she was facing the other way, in the direction that Yumiko was pulling her...

_No, together! We need to stick together!_

"Yumiko!" she screamed, but Yumiko continued to drag her away, running fast. Yukiko's feet dragged along the dust, as she cried out in protest. Somewhere in the background, Yukiko heard someone scream loudly. A shrill high pitched scream... blood curdling.

It was as if the huge fortress of hope that Yukiko had built up was crumbling before her very eyes. They were already killing...

They were murderers...

As Yumiko reached the tree line, Yukiko struggled free, and spun around to stare back at the school. Yoji was not far behind them, looking mortified.

All he could think to do was run. There was no room inside his head for anything but the panic. _They'll come for you..._

_Hiroshi hates you... he'll get you too!_

Whimpering loudly, he collapses beside the other two, gasping as he stared at what the other two girls were fixated on.

There was no sign of Kuninobu anywhere, however, the two figures standing just ahead of the school's exit were still plainly vissible. Kuronaga and Kotohiki.

Both standing stock still. The three by the treeline watched in horrified awe.

Very slowly, as if in bullet time, Kayoko's body slowly fell over to the side, landing with a thud that resonated around the school's playground.

A meek and feeble gasp escaped from Yukiko's mouth as she stared tearfully, her entire world falling before her eyes. She would have fallen herself had it not been for Yumiko there with her.

_Don't leave me, not now..._

Hiroshi looked up, and beside her, Yukiko heard Yoji whimper.

"Yukiko, we have to go!" Yumiko said urgently.

Yoji stood up at this, looking very prepared to run. He wasn't too keen on sticking around either. His lips were trembling from the sight of Hiroshi standing by the dead body of Kotohiki. A murder... right there...

_That's what murder looks like..._

He felt like he was going to be sick at any moment, and that as well as the terror in his heart was a very good case for running as far as he could.

_Don't let Hiroshi get you too..._

"Yukiko!" he cried. Hiroshi wasn't walking towards them, but Yoji still couldn't stand to be there any longer.

Yukiko bit her lip, and stood up weakly, turning with the other two to run into the forrest. She didn't even know why she was bothering to run. _We've already lost..._

_Don't loose hope Yukiko!_

_But we can't beat them. We can't even trust each other now..._

_The goverment was right. The whole time..._

_... they were right..._

----- G7

Yuko had emerged quietly as was her custom. She wasn't a girl for big exits, prefering to not get noticed, to avoid any bad attention. The situation she had just been plunged into had acted as a catylist to this immediately.

Trembling, she took the bad from the guard. She clung to it as her tiny frame ambled slowly out of the room. Peering round the corner cautiously, she spotted a group of people waiting outside. Her eyes widened.

She began to step forward very slowly, carefully prodding the floor with her foot to check which beams of wood were creaky before putting her whole weight on them. In silence she moved, every move carefully calculated and every slight noise making her heart leap with fear. She had only five minutes in which to get out unnoticed, or Ryuhei would be out and right behind her. Why did it have to be her let out in between to members of the gang?

Suddenly, without any sort of warning to Yuko, a shrill scream peirced the silence which she had so carefully maintined.

She froze, standing in the doorway with wide eyes and a such a strong and fast heartbeat that it was almost painful.

She bit her lip. _Please no... Please_

The group in front of her had disbanded. Hiroshi stood looking outwards, with his back to her, and on the ground was a body... a girl...

_He killed a girl!_

"Boys #10: Ryuhei Sasagawa!" called Kamon from the room behind Yuko. She spun around, nearly loosing her balance, and gasped loudly.

_Oh no! God... please help me!_

She began to take large steps backwards, before whimpering, and turning round, running full speed.

Unfortunately, Hiroshi had noticed her by now and moved in on her, and as she turned to run, she smacked right into him.

Being a light and fragile girl compared to most, the force of the collision was enough to send Yuko to the ground, where she lay, not even daring to blink up at the grinning figure of Hiroshi, who stood above her, knife raised threateningly.

"Hiroshi!" called a grating and unpleasant voice from behind Yuko.

_Sasagawa!_

"Ryuhei." Hiroshi answered plainly.

"Man, what the hell is going on?"

Hiroshi smiled. "We just got a hostage." he said plainly.

"What the fuck?"

"You have a gun?" Hiroshi asked plainly to Ryuhei, who opened his bag, and eventually shook his head.

Hiroshi shrugged. "Well then, we hold little miss Sakaki here hostage. One of those girls is bound to have a gun. We can do a trade. Simple."

Ryuhei grinned maliciously. "Hey dude, good plan! Then we go find Kazuo right?"

Hiroshi nodded unenthusiastically. "Oh... right. Yeah."

Yuko was trying her best not to cry as she trembled with fear, still not daring to get up. "Please... no..." she whimpered.

Hiroshi sighed. "Just get up."

Yuko gasped and leapt to her feet a little faster than Ryuhei and Hiroshi had been expecting.

_God... please..._

----- G7

"Girls #10: Hirono Shimizu."

Hirono shot Mitsuko a glance as she got up from her seat, however, her friend wasn't looking in her direction. Strangely, Mitsuko actually looked bored. Turning back to the front, she walked towards the soldier at the front, snatching the bag from his hands without waiting for him to hand it.

Kamon smirked. "Oh, she's a lively one."

"Tosser" she whispered under her breath as she exited the room.

She stepped cautiously into the hall, looking around quickly for anyone hiding there. Everyone inside the room had heard the screams, and struggled to listen in on a conversation that had happened in the hallway, though if anyone had actually heard it clearly, they hadn't bothered to inform her.

She glanced back at the doorway to the classroom. Everyone in there would still be shitting themselves, all thinking someone was still waiting right outside. Shrugging, she called back in "The hall is empty guys."

_Wait..._

Violently she shook her head. _Hiro, what are you doing? Why are you helping those pansies! Get a grip! What would Mitsuko say!_

_... Ah, yeah... I said it so Mitsuko and Yoshimi could know._

_Yeah..._

_It's OK, I'm not helping anyone else._

She grinned, and walked out. _Just you three alone now my dear. Not like you ever cared for anyone else, but hey! At least this will be a little easier that way._

As she entered the playground, she suddenly noticed that there was a dead body lying in the dirt. Hirono raised an eyebrow and walked forward.

_Hey, it's flower girl!_ she thought, bending down. Kotohiki had bled to death, that much was quite evident. Hirono smirked. Either whoever killed her hadn't checked her bag, or had just zipped it back up afterwards.

Bending down, Hirono pulled the zip back, and looked inside. The bag looked untouched. All the water, bread and...

_Whoa! Nice!_ Hirono said, grabbing for the Sig Sauer.

Opening up her own bag to drop it in, she spotted that she herself had also been given a gun.

_Two guns baby! And the game barely started! Oh Hirono... you are just too good at this!_

Smirking, she also took Kotohiki's water and bread. On second thought, she took the flashlight too. It was just her sort of luck to get a flashlight that ran out after 20 minutes. Always her luck. _Well, not this time hey Hiro..._

She stood up, and stared back at the school. Someone else would be out soon... Hiroki, or whatever. It was a reunion that Hirono wasn't bleeding from the mouth with exitment over. _Time to split._

Smiling widely, she turned, and ran at full speed to the west.

_Looks like it's my lucky day..._


	4. Chapter 4

----- G7

Hiroki sat at his desk, staring at Kamon's unartstic version of the island map, trying to figure out where people would be going. His face displayed only cold determination, none of the tears like his other classmates. _No more crying... Boys don't cry… No more crying. Ever again._

Most of his classmates were now trying to come to terms with the fact that they only had a 1 in 42 chance of going home (though from the screams they had heard, it seemed like their chances had just been unfortunately improved)

Hiroki however, knew already that his grave would be here. Only one could survive. One, not three. Not six. Not forty two. Without the whole class surviving, he would never get over the survival guilt. Without all his friends surviving, he would never be able to get over what happened on the island. And without Chigusa and Kotohiki surviving too, there would be no point in being alive.

Only one could survive. If it was him, then everyone else would have to be dead, therefore he'd barely be alive himself.

So he couldn't win.

But he was going to make sure that he got to see Chigusa and Kotohiki first. As long as they were both alive, he had a point. A purpose.

"Boys #11: Hiroki Sugimura!"

Hiroki rose in a controlled and swift movement, walking to the front of the classroom calmly, and taking his bag from the guard at the front of the classroom politely. He even bowed in thanks before turning to look at Chigusa on last time. She was staring at him intently, her face set to it's normal icy demeanour. As he began to leave, not taking his eves of her, her lips parted slightly, and she let out a sob that was barely audible.

Hiroki turned and entered the corridor. Hirono had previously yelled into the classroom that no one was waiting outside. He gazed around. It seemed to be true, though he couldn't see outside. If there had been moonlight, a cloud must have blocked it, as the exit from the building was dark and shadowy.

He bent down to open his bag, to search for a weapon immediately. He wasn't intending to kill, but he might need one for defence. Though no one save maybe Kazuo could compare to him when it came to martial arts, everyone had a weapon now. It would be unwise to underestimate them.

He dipped his hand into the bag, and felt a small, roughly palm-sized object that was cool and metallic.

He withdrew it slowly. It was just a blank lump of metal. Raising an eyebrow, he turned it over, revealing that the other side had a screen. He breathed a sigh of relief. At least it was _something._

Staring at it curiously, he noticed a lot of red dots displayed on the electronic screen. Most were clumped in a group and...

Hiroki smiled as he realised what it was. It was some sort of a tracker. There were all of his classmates still in the classroom, one dot for each, and there was him and...

He gazed up. There was a dot directly in front of him.

Someone was outside.

But who? It could be Hirono for all he knew, waiting to get a first kill. He hoped not Already, some friendly faces had been let out. There was Kuninobu, Utsumi... Kayoko. _Let it be Kayoko..._

He moved forward confidentially, preparing for either a confrontation or reunion.

Then, the cloud that had been blocking the moon began to drift on again. Slowly, the landscape regained the dim light it had been dipped in before.

Hiroki gasped. Not a student waiting for a confrontation, but a body.

"Kayoko..."

_Oh God..._

Hiroki stared down. There was now no point trying not to cry. She was dead... she was...

Someone had killed Kayoko...

"Kayoko… no…"

_Hiroki was walking along the bank by himself. Takako had been away that day, and while it was a lonely walk home without her, it was nice to be able to appreciate the natural beauty of the area fully. The evening sun cast a warm glaze over the trees and the river as he walked along in calm silence._

_He turned with mild interest to his left as he heard someone walking past him._

_With surprise, he realised it was Kayoko. She was walking in front of him now. He could feel himself blushing. Get a grip Hiroki!_

_She sniffed, and then reached into her pocket to grab out a handkerchief. As she did so, a few notes fell out from her pocket onto the ground. Hiroki instinctively picked them up and called out._

_"Hey, you dropped..."_

_She turned around, and gazed at him as if he were threatening her with a knife._

_"Your... money..." Hiroki said, coughing._

_She gazed down at his hand. "Oh..." she said, forcing a nervoussmile, and gently taking the notes from his hand._

_She looked around on the ground where they stood. "Erm... is that everything?"_

_Hiroki felt the lump in his throat rise. He desperately wanted to tell her now…_

_Hiroki bit his lip. "Erm... yeah. That's everything."_

_She giggled. "Thanks!" and turned to walk away._

_Hiroki sighed. I'll... just tell her later. Yeah. Later._

But now there would be no later.

Hiroki had missed his chance. Like sand slipping through fingers… the chance was… gone…

"Kayoko... I'm so sorry..." he whispered.

_Takako... she's still alive, you have to stay strong for Takako..._

Hiroki stared down at Kayoko's body. It was too late. He hadn't told her, and that was that. There wasn't anything he could do anymore. He had to be strong for Chigusa. He had to...

It was the only thing he could do.

_You need to get over it…_

He stood up, and wiped away his tears with a clean movement. Taking one last look down at Kayoko, he whispered "Goodbye... I'm sorry that... I couldn't be there for you. You will not be forgotten."

"Probably not," came a amused voice from behind Hiroki. "She was the first to die by the look of it. That's gotta be worth something I guess. Award for lameness!"

Hiroki whirled around angrily. "Mitsuko!"

Mitsuko grinned back at him. "Hello Sugimura. Fancy meeting you! Come here often?"

_Run Hiroki! Just run!_

Though he was shaking with anger, he turned and ran full speed away from the school. _Forget them... Takako is all that matters now... just run!_

Mitsuko sighed as he disappeared into the distance. "How rude."

Slowly she began to stride off. There was bound to be someone around... somewhere. Her weapon was pitiful, but she should be able to get some damage done. She grinned. _You always do..._

----- G6

Yoji looked around nervously. The three of them had stopped walking, having found a small clearing in the forest.

He had felt quite confident with the group when Kuninobu had been there, and more so when Kayoko joined. But now it was just Yukiko and Yumiko. Best friends. Plus him.

_They don't want you here Yoji..._

He was the odd one out. Just like everywhere else.

"Erm..." he said weakly. Yukiko didn't look up from where she was slouched on the floor.

Yumiko looked up with eyes only just brimming with tears.

Yoji shifted his weight from one foot to the other uneasily. "Maybe... I should go..."

"What?" Yumiko said, sounding outraged. "But... we need to stick together!"

"But..." Yoji began, glancing back in the direction they had just come from, his voice trailing away.

Yumiko sighed, knowing what he meant.

Yukiko slowly looked up. "We've already failed. What's the point?"

"Yukiko!" scolded Yumiko. "We can't give up now! If we give up, it'll only mean more deaths! We have to keep on trying! _We_ arn't dead yet! There are loads of people in our class who wouldn't give into the game. We can still try and unite them!"

Yukiko looked into her friends eyes. "Kuronaga is still a human being. So is Mimura, Shuuya, Hiroki, Utsumi. Everyone's got a breaking point."

"What happened to your message of peace!" cried Yumiko. "As far as I remember, it was _you_ who first said we should stick together!"

Yukiko smiled sarcastically. "I lost hope."

Yumiko stood tall defiantly. "I wouldn't believe that for a second! And even if you have, _I_ haven't!"

Yukiko wiped away her tears with her sleeve. "You really think they won't turn on you?"

"Only one way to find out!"

"We already did. The answer is that they will."

Yumiko shook her head. "One setback and you're willing to just give up?"

"One setback?" screamed Yukiko. "Kotohiki is dead! I'd call that more than a setback! Our class is dying out there!"

"And you're just going to let Kuronaga and the other players continue having their rampage?"

"No! But..."

"Then we have to keep trying!" Yumiko cried. "We have to! What the hell else can we do?"

Yukiko didn't respond for a while. Her breathing was rapid and adrenaline was pumping through her at worrying speed.

Mimura... Shuuya... Utsumi... Hiroki... we can trust them?

_How can we trust them now?_

_So this is it? I give up now? Do I die here_

Yukiko looked up suddenly. Somewhere in her mind... she was finally beginning to realise.

_Yukiko Kitano give up? Have you ever heard anything so absurd?_

"That's... my thing." she said weakly.

Yumiko looked confused. "What do you mean, Yukiko?"

Yukiko smiled. "Mimura is good with computers, Shuuya is good at leading people, Hiroki has martial arts. Everyone has a strength. Yours is making everyone feel good about themselves. I just realised what mine is."

"What?" Yumiko asked, looking as if she wasn't really following.

"I _don't_ give up." Yukiko said, rising to her feet, and reaching out her arms for a hug, which Yumiko returned. "Thanks for reminding me." she whispered into her friend's ear.

"Don't mention it." Yumiko said proudly. "You worked it out yourself."

Yukiko giggled, and picked up her bag. "We should get going."

Yumiko nodded. "Yeah. Where do you think we should go first?"

Yukiko shrugged. "I'm not sure, what do you think Yo---"

Yukiko's voice trailed away.

The two girls looked around in confusion. The gentle light cast through the trees was giving the whole place a hazy look as they gazed through the sea of vegetation. They were alone.

"Yoji?"

----- G7

Yoji was running back through the forest at as fast a speed as he could manage without running the danger of smacking into a tree.

_Yoshimi... can't have left her..._

_I'm so sorry... for a moment..._

_I forgot how much I need you..._

Angrily batting the leaves from in front of his face, he pushed on forward. _Fucking leaves!_

It couldn't be that far now, surely? Damn him for not being fitter! _Damn it!_

Then, he felt something slide just in front of his foot, tripping him over. He landed on the uneven ground hard, crying out more in annoyance than rage. _Fucking tree roots! Why is everything going wrong today?_

He was about to get up again and continue running, when he felt something metal slip around the side of his neck. He froze. _What the fuck?_

"I wouldn't get up to fast. Hell, I'll try not to cut anything but I can't make any promises, especially if you're going to be an ass about it."

Yoji's eyes widened in fear. He recognised that voice all too well...

_"And... erm... two glasses of coke." Yoji said, staring up at the board above the counter that displayed the different choices. "Yeah... that's it. You want anything else?"_

_Yoshimi shook her head. "Oh, that'll be fine thanks! I don't want to have too much, I haven't got that much money at the moment!"_

_Yoji smiled. "Hey, it'll be my little treat!"_

_Yoshimi smiled widely. "Oh, you're so sweet!" she cried loudly, before gripping him around the waist tightly._

_"Erm... Yoshimi... I need to pay them and you're restricting my arms..." Yoji said uneasily._

_Yoshimi leapt back. "Oh, I'm sorry!"_

_Yoji chuckled. "It's OK," he said as he handed over a few notes to the girl at the till. He picked up their tray of food and walked with Yoshimi over to a table seat._

_Eagerly, he grabbed for the fries. "Man, I love these!" he said happily, as he started to munch on some enthusiastically._

_Yoshimi reached out for her coke, and drank some slowly. Once she was done, she looked down at the burger. It was a surprise to her that Hirono and Mitsuko seemed to like the place so much, way too many unhealthy foods! Shyly, she took a bite into the burger as if she was worried someone was going to slap her for it._

_"Yoji?" she asked quietly as she gulped down a small mouthful of the greasy food._

_Yoji looked up, his mouth still full of fries. "Mmhmm?"_

_"This is... really nice, thanks." she said, blushing._

_Yoji quickly gulped down his food. "Yeah, it is." He smiled._

_"Oh!" Yoshimi exclaimed. "You have a bit of something left on your lip!"_

_"Huh?" Yoji said, licking his lips before wiping them with his hand. "Is it gone now?"_

_Yoshimi shook her head and sighed. "Let me get it for you."_

_They both leant forward, and Yoshimi gently stroked her finger across Yoji's bottom lip. Their eyes met, and they both giggled uneasily for a short while._

_"You look... really pretty today." Yoji said, grinning. "Oh, not that you don't everyday!"_

_Yoshimi began to laugh. "It's OK Yoji, I know what you mean. And thanks..."_

_Yoji chuckled, and they both started to lean in, a little closer, their lips almost touching._

_"Oh! My! God!"_

_They looked around in alarm just in time to see Hirono fly onto the seat next to Yoshimi, staring at her with intense importance. "Me and Mitsu just walked past Mitsuru in the street and you'll never guess what he was doing?"_

_Yoji coughed uneasily. Hirono looked up. "Oh hi Yoji!"_

_He waved back shyly as Yoshimi sat, staring down at her burger shyly._

_"You gonna finish that?" Hirono said pointing at the burger. Yoshimi shook her head._

_Grinning, Hirono reached out, and grabbed the burger, taking a large bite. "I fink he's up ta somfin!" she said, her loud voice muffled through the mouthful of food. "Hangin outsid sum gay bar donton! I fink vough vat he were wiv someone! Dunno who vow!"_

_Yoshimi smiled uneasily. "Erm, that's great Hiro!"_

_"Who's the extra?" Said an icy and chilling voice. Yoji looked up to see Mitsuko standing by their table, pointing at him. Hardcore Souma. The psycho..._

_He froze._

_"This is Yoji!" Yoshimi said proudly. "Remember Mitsu, I told you about him?"_

_Mitsuko seemed to think for a while, before nodding. "Oh yeah. Well, does it talk?"_

_"Erm..." Yoji said slowly._

_Mitsuko shrugged. "I guess that's something." and sat down in the vacant seat next to Yoji._

The rest of that meal, Yoji hadn't said a word, and Mitsuko hadn't acknowledged his presence since. He'd always assumed that any friend of Yoshimi's would be OK, and so he'd never worried himself about her, though she had always made him feel uneasy.

But she was here now.

And he was scared.

"Mitsuko?"

"Get up!" she ordered, and he did so, being very aware of the closeness of the metal to his jugular.

"What's going on Mitsuko?" he asked.

"You're coming with me."

"Why?" whimpered Yoji.

"Stop with the questions, you're boring me. And you don't want to find out what happens to you once I get bored of you." She said coldly. Entirely without emotion.

Yoji began to move forward as she instructed, with her following just behind, the sickle at arm's length still hooked around his now sore neck. Thankfully, Mitsuko wasn't giving him any hugely specific instructions on where to go, just vague ones. As long as he didn't make it obvious, he could probably get back to where Yumiko and Yukiko were. He needed help, and they were the first people since Yoshimi and Niida who had taken the time to actually talk to him like he was another person.

_Please let them still be there..._

----- G7

"Where did he go?" Yukiko asked in distress, her voice shaking.

"I don't know! I didn't see!" Yumiko said worriedly. "Where do you think he would have gone?"

Yukiko tried to think. "Well... he was really scared about Kotohiki... maybe he ran off further away from the school?"

Yumiko nodded. "Yeah... makes sense. He looked terrified a few minutes ago."

Grabbing their bags, the two girls began to set off towards the east as fast as they could.

_Please let them still be there..._


	5. Chapter 5

-----H7

Akamatsu had never really considered luck to be one of his defining qualities.

It was something like true friends... it tended to elude him. Sure, there were people who were happy enough to talk to him, and occasionally stick up for him in a fight, but there was often little more to it than just that. It was more like acquaintances. Yukie Utsumi was no exception to this rule.

The girl seemed to be a really popular member of class, and people certainly had a lot of respect for her. Akamatsu didn't really tend to, as he never really saw the point in respect. In a few years, they would all leave school, and he'd most likely never see any of them again, not that it bothered him much. He was almost glad for that fact, somehow alluding himself that it would all be better after school. He just had to get through the next few years... and then... it would all be OK.

So it had come as quite a shock when Utsumi had caught up with him as he travelled south.

He was walking through a built up area, just down some faceless street of houses with fairly large gardens. In a way, it was almost fun. A whole island to themselves. It was like one huge big RPG, and it was real life. But exiting wasn't enough to cushion the blow that the whole was going to get him killed.

_They'll come for you first... they always go for you, you're an easy target! You think they'll be nice now? Time to play nice?_

_They'll kill you first!_

The sound that came from behind him caused him to whirl around.

There, just down the road from him stood Utsumi, waving at him. Yukie Utsumi, female class representative. Yukie Utsumi, always with a group of friends... so popular. _She's a winner Yoshio..._

_They'll come for you_

"Hey!" she called out, waving. "It's me, Yukie!"

"No!" Akamatsu screamed, raising the crossbow. _It's only a game..._

But he couldn't do it. To scared... _too scared..._

Turning again, he fled away from her, running around a corner into a side alley. He gazed around in panic. The walls of the two buildings rose to his sides, and at the back of the alley stood a pile of various bins piled with rubbish that would never be collected. It was a dead end. Trapped... _Oh no! It was a trap! There arn't supposed to be any traps on level 1! Level 1 is supposed to be easy!_

"Akamatsu? I won't hurt you!" came Utsumi's shrill voice, accompanied by the sound of running footsteps.

Akmatsu turned to face the entrance to the small and dark alley, his crossbow raised. His finger shook over the trigger... so dangerously close to firing as he slowly backed away into the darkness, trembling and whimpering in fear.

"Aakmatsu?"

Then, a terrible sound came crashing through the echoing alley. It sounded loudly across the area they were in, loud and shrill, yet short lived...

Totally unmistakable. A gunshot. What was worse, was that it was followed by a shriek. Akamatsu gasped.

There was silence. He listened out, his finger still shaking on the trigger. _Too much noise... you're making too much noise... they'll hear and come for you!_

Only silence.

_They'll come for you..._

Though he was utterly terrified, Akamatsu called out in a wavering voice "Utsumi? Are you there?"

He regretted it at once. She would come now... she'd fired, she must have a gun... _You're going to be killed by a girl!_

"No..." Akamatsu whimpered, the darkness closing in... "No..."

Then, a footstep. Close.

And another.

And another.

Akamatsu's eyes widened in fear, leaking warm tears that poured down his face. Someone was outside... right outside.

Suddenly, the light at the end of the entrance to the alley was intruded, as a figure appeared there. Akamatsu bit on his lip...

_Oda..._

----- H6.

"Mitsuko?"

"Don't talk."

Mitsuko grinned. Yoji was fine bait. Sitting in the classroom, she had written the names of her classmates lazily, not really caring for the order. Simply who came to mind. Yes, she had felt no remorse. Why bother with it? Her life was threatened, and she wasn't going to let anything take it away from her. Not anymore, it was her life after all, and she was just starting to have fun. No more letting other people fuck her over.

She owed the world some hefty revenge. It was her turn to take.When in the classroom, she had been so ready to start pumping lead.

But as she emerged, she had found Kayoko's body there already. People had already started killing. Many more could be dead. For all she knew, half the class could be gone by 6am. It might be a big leap of faith, but with the freaks in her class, she wouldn't put it past them.

That's when she realised that maybe she should hold out for a while. Go somewhere cosy, and have a bit of fun while she was at it. If people really were killing, let them fight amongst themselves. She didn't want to put herself in danger of course... and when there were but a few remaining, she would emerge. She'd only have to take a few out. Kazuo... Kiriyama... Mimura... hell, even Takako. There was some serious competition out there, but she could take them. Especially after they'd gone through the fighting themselves. Yes, she'd sit the first round out.

And while she was at it, she might as well have some fun. Hell, Yoji might even come in useful somehow, though Mitsuko doubted it. The mere fact that she was totally in control was enough to make her not need to kill him. She liked being in control. She simply wouldn't have it any other way.

----- H7

Vulgar.

The overweight kid shaking out of fear in an alley way of trash. Oda smirked. How terribly disgusting.

"Yoshio?" he asked in his posh, correctly pronounced and yet somehow still repulsive voice.

"Where's Utsumi?" Shrieked the larger boy, the crossbow shaking in his hands.

Oda raised an eyebrow... _Do bullet proof vests really protect against bolts? It would be wise not to risk it... befriend the heathen... temporarily..._

"There's no need to wave that obscene contraption around" he snarled. "Unless your intention is murder."

"Where is she!" cried Akamatsu, his face rendering itself in anger. It seemed the wimp was getting a little headstrong. "Where is she!"

Oda sighed. It was utterly pointless. _The oaf is clearly unstable..._

_Shoot... to win? Of course we shall. Who can really expect Toshinori Oda to stand aside and let delinquent scum win such a game? The trash of the poverty line... the faeces of the factories. No, none of these kids would do. Yes... there were those with class like Oda... Kiriyama for example, but he simply couldn't win. No, such a distant person, acting as if nothing mattered, as if the rise of the masses was insignificant! Those like... like the repulsive Shuuya Nanahara and his crones, they want power. They crave it and he ignores them. He even exposes himself to the likes of Sasagawa, Kuronaga and Numai. Rotten children! He simplycannot win. And then there is Motobuchi, is there not? A whimpering idiot. I don't expect such a boy could possibly survive the very beginning of the game. He is not worthy._

_But Toshinori Oda is. They shall all see of course... like that Utsumi girl. How very vulgar she was..._

Raising the gun he had managed to snatch from Utsumi before turning it on her, Oda's face croaked into a grin.

_They'll come for you..._

"No!" Akamatsu cried, firing on reflex. _You have to fight before they attack you! Then jump!_

The bolt flew through the air obviously a lot quicker than Oda had been expecting, and he had also underestimated Akamatsu's aim, thinking all those electronic games were just simplistic recreation for the mentally insufficient. It appeared he was rather unfortunately mistaken.

The bolt hit Oda in the left of his forehead with enough force to piece the hard bone of his skull. At the same time, Akamatsu jumped into the air. However, his foot slipped on a nearby carton or some fruit juice of other that was leaking a slimy and slippery concoction that sent Akamatsu to the ground. As he landed, the gun fired. It all happened so fast...

The air cleared, and the silence began to settle in. Akamatsu realised that from his crouched position in the alley, he had raised his hands to cover his ears.

Slowly, he removed them, and gazed up at the back wall with childish innocence, gaping at the bullet hole. If he had not tripped, he would probably have been in it's path when it impacted. So close to death...

He turned his head.

There, in the entrance to the alley lay the body of Toshinori Oda, his once ugly face now even worse for wear, the skull cracked open by the bolt at the top. Akmatsu whimpered. "No... I..."

_Passed level 1..._

Akmatsu stared in disbelief. _They did come for me first... I was right..._

_But I'm still alive..._

He reached out a trembling hand to the crossbow. _You're on level 2 now... you can't quit the game... you already played..._

_You already killed..._

He staggered out of the alley, trying to do so while staying as far away from the body as possible, save for a moment where he reached out a trembling hand to get the gun, a high pitched whine escaping his thick lips.

Just down the street, he could spot the lifeless body of Yukie Utsumi... she... _would have tried to shoot me too... it's just like a game..._

With the gun under his belt, he slunk of into the night, shivering, terrified and alone.

But he was used to it.

----- H5

Yukiko and Yumiko slowly ascended the steps of the shrine. Yumiko kept a makeshift watch, keeping an eye out for anything that looked suspicious, though they both knew that if someone was hiding close by, they were unlikely to detect them.

The shrine itself was old and practically in ruins. Yukiko would have been enchanted with the dark romanticism of it, had they visited in a better circumstance.

"Yoji?" she called weakly, her voice echoing of the crumbling stone walls. There was no response, apart from a few bird cries, and about a dozen crows taking flight from the various hiding places in the walls.

Yumiko sighed. "We probably arn't going to find him tonight... we should get some rest."

Yukiko swung round. "But, we can't give up!"

"Tactics Yukiko," Yumiko said in a lecturing tone. "If we stay up all night, we probably won't find him and we'll be too tired tomorrow when the island is swarming with people. If we get rest, we'll stand a better chance."

Yukiko, glanced around for a while in desperation, almost in hope that some piece of evidence she could use against this argument would present itself, however, it did not. "OK..." she whispered.

Yumiko smiled and nodded. "I feel bad about it too..." she said as she removed a water bottle from her bag. "Oh..." she said in surprise.

Yukiko walked over. "What's the matter?"

"I've got grenades... we forgot to check for weapons!"

Yukiko gasped. "We... did..." She wasn't too keen to find out what hers was. She didn't want anything bad, but didn't really want anything good either. Gritting her teeth, she drew back the zip of the bag.

Inside was a dart kit with darts. Not even proper ones... it was just a kid's toy set. She withdrew it, and handed it to Yumiko, who sighed, and placed it on the floor.

"Well," she began, looking at her grenades, "at least we have something to defend ourselves if we need to..."

Yukiko shook her head. "I won't touch them."

Yumiko smiled, and then chuckled. "The world needs more people like you Yukiko..."

Yukiko shrugged. "And more people like..."

Her voice trailed away as Yumiko raised a finger to her lips. Such a gesture frightened the life out of Yukiko... Yumiko wouldn't never do something like that unless it was important, especially in such an important situation. She must have heard something. Stealthily, Yumiko crept back to near the entrance, coming back only a few seconds later.

"We've got company."

"Who?" Yukiko asked, her eyes wide with panic.

"Yoji..."

Yukiko clasped her hands together. "Oh, that's wonderful..." but as she started to walk towards the door, Yumiko held out an arm to stop her.

"Mitsuko too... she's got him at knife edge..."

Yukiko gasped. "Hardcore Souma? Oh no… what do we do?"

Yumiko looked around frantically. There were the grenades... and that was all they had to use... _What do we do indeed..._

Yoji gulped carefully, still aware of the blade around his neck. The shrine up ahead seemed like a potent location... and end to the journey. Yoji really didn't want to know what happened next... _What the hell can I do?_

Mitsuko smiled. Yoji was almost on the verge of panic. She loved it when they squirmed under her control. _Oh Mitsuko... so many possibilities, what will you do now_

She chuckled. "Keep going Yoji... good boy..."

Yumiko bent down and grabbed one of the grenades.

"What are you doing?" hissed Yukiko. "Yumiko... no! You arn't going to..."

Yumiko shook her head. "Course not that! But we have to do _something!_"

She slid the pin out of the grenade...


	6. Chapter 6

----- E7

Yutaka had been running since he had been let out of the school. He had heard the screams outside not long before, and in addition, he was let out right after Mitsuko. _Shit..._

Tears streamed from the young boy's eyes as he ran north. Though not the most athletic of the class, he was high on adrenaline and terror, and he made his way fairly quickly considering.

He had his flashlight on, the beam erratic as the hand that held the torch shook. He hadn't really considered how obvious it was making his location. All he cared about was being able to see the way.

Ahead, the flickering light of his torch shone differently. It was glinting more, far more fluid. Yutaka gasped. It was reflecting off something... water? Surely he wasn't already at the north coast! He glanced around, suddenly worried by the apparent smallness of the island. If it was this small, there would surely be no where to hide? Kamon had said it was bigger than this, he had said!

However, as he approached the water, he suddenly realised that it was not the north coast. His torch now shone over the surface of the pond... to the other side. He moved it to the side, and was able to make out a bank running around in the dim light. It wasn't the coast... just a small lake...

Removing his map from his bag, while whimpering at his own stupidity, he removed his map. It looked like he was probably in E7... there was a pond marked there.

He sighed, and replaced the map. Something cold and metallic brushed against his hand. He gasped shrilly, and shone the flashlight inside the bag, to find out what it was. Yutaka raised an eyebrow. "What the...?"

Slowly, and reluctantly, he removed his weapon.

For a moment, silence ruled, as the trees whistled with the late night wind, before it was pierced with a shrieking.

"A FORK?"

Yutaka turned his head. _OK... maybe I shouldn't have done that..._

The wind hissed back merrily. _Did anyone hear? That was so stupid Yutaka! Stupid stupid stupid!_

He threw the fork back in his bag, and stood up, glancing around once more. _I can't stay here... I can't do this on my own..._

But still... he couldn't bring himself to run back to the school. There would be bad kids too... _Mimura... run north too! Please..._

Crunch.

Yutaka whirled around in a panicked frenzy. "What was that?" he called out loud, before whimpering, bringing a hand up to cover his mouth. _Stupid!_

The wind seemed louder, a rising hissing sound like the sea... rising above his head. He cast the beam of the light into the nearby vegetation. The sound seemed to continue to grow, pounding on his ears... _Someone else is here!_

_Run Yutaka_

As his mouth opened in a scream, Yutaka turned, running at full speed towards the east, though he had no idea what direction it was. It turned out to be a bad move.

As he rounded a large dense bush, a foot stuck out silently, veiled in darkness. Yutaka didn't know it was there till he had tripped over it, falling over onto the ground with a crash and another scream.

The figure stepped out as Yutaka flung over onto his back to see who it was. Tears streamed down his face, as he tried to stop himself from screaming once more. A high pitched wail was escaping his throat.

However, when the assailant brought out their gun, pointing it directly at Yutaka's face, the wailing stopped. _Oh my god..._

----- H5

Yumiko threw the grenade directly up into the air, then grabbed hold of Yukiko's arm, and began to run.

Yukiko gasped, and nearly fell over as she was pulled once more away by her friend. They were both running through the ruins towards the opposite side from Mitsuko and Yoji. The ground was uneven, and Yukiko was struggling not to trip up. She knew that if she did, she'd probably send Yumiko to the floor too.

Just as they emerged on the other side, the grenade exploded. The sound from the blast was not as big as Yukiko had expected, nor was the flame as impressive. But it was still powerful.

"What now?" she hissed sideways at Yumiko.  
Her friend shrugged. "I don't know. I didn't figure that far ahead yet. I guess... we go back..."

Mitsuko and Yoji had just started ascending the stairs of the shrine when the grenade went off just inside. It was so unexpected that Mitsuko had leapt backwards in surprise. _Shit!_

Thankfully for Yoji, he had also leapt back, otherwise the sickle would probably have done some serious damage. However, his jump had been more powerful than Mitsuko's, and as he landed on her, she fell backwards, the two of them rolling down a few steps before ending up at the bottom of the stairs.

"Fuck!" Mitsuko cried, reaching for the sickle angrily. Whoever had done that was going to pay. There was obviously going to be no time for fun. Best quickly deal with the extra...  
Yoji had jumped back quickly as they landed, shaking.

_Who the fuck set that grenade off? Jesus christ!_

The two of them both stood facing each other at the foot of the stairs, Mitsuko holding the sickle threateningly, ready to pounce. There was a glimmer of enjoyment in her eyes, though her mouth was set in an angry frown.  
Yoji too was shaking with anger, hate and annoyance flowing through his veins. _Everyone thinks they can take a pot shot at Yoji, hey? Fuck this! FUCK IT!_

Mitsuko could see he had cracked. The trademark Yoji Kuramoto mood swing. Most of the time he was just a weak and overly feminine guy, but when he cracked he was bad news. She needed to tread carefully.

_Tread carefully? He doesn't even have a weapon! Think Yoji can take on hardcore Souma just because he's pissed off? Oh, you have to be kidding me!_

She screamed, and leapt forward in a burst of energy, slashing the sickle violently. Yoji cried out viciously, reaching his hands up in defence.

The sickle impacted on his left hand wrist, just where the bone is closest to the skin. The skin was pierced, the metal of the scythe only getting stopped by the bone. Yoji howled with pain, his free right hand reaching out and grabbing the handle of the scythe before Mitsuko could pull it back.

She scowled as they both struggled to pull it towards themselves. Suddenly, Yoji was looking more threatening... his face was set in an angry snarl, almost animalistic, his teeth exposed. The pupils of his eyes were tiny, and the veins not just of his eyes, but of his whole face were pounding and pulsating.

It was pure rage. Yoji couldn't even control it. _So angry... so FUCKING angry! Kill the stupid whore!_ "You fucking bitch!" he screamed, the saliva flying from his mouth like acid.

He raised a foot, jabbing it sharply into Mitsuko's lower body. She winced, and cried out as Yoji managed to free the sickle from her hand.

_Oh, you messed with the wrong bitch!_

Rearing her head up, she jumped forward, pushing Yoji to the ground as he swiping furiously with the sickle, cutting into her upper arm.

The blade slashed into the muscle of the upper arm, causing Mitsuko to shriek with pain. _No! I refuse to die! I cannot let him win!_

Yumiko and Yukiko were running back towards where Mitsuko and Yoji would now be, with absolutely no idea of what to do. The ruins were dark, but thanks to the moonlight, there were just about able to see.

Then they heard a cry of pain, followed by "You fucking bitch!"

Yukiko gasped. "Was that..."

"Yoji!" interrupted Yumiko, her face aghast with surprise and horror. "Hurry!"

Speeding up, they made their way through the ruins, before Yukiko cried out once more, having spotted something on the floor. She reached down and picked up a gun.

"Where did this come from?"

The gun shook in her trembling hands. _Someone else is here…_

Yumiko glanced around briefly. "I don't know… but we have to hurry!"

Yukiko nodded, following Yumiko with the gun still in her hands, casting occasional looks around for their mystery guest.

The two girls sped up once more, passing their kit bags on the floor before reaching the top of the staircase, spotting Yoji and Mitsuko rolling around on the floor, both shrieking and cursing at each other.

Yukiko gasped. "Oh god... Mitsuko! Please no!"

Yumiko had thought of running down and trying to break them up, but she realised that it might simply get her and Yukiko injured, or worse. Biting on her lip, she reached out, taking the gun from Yukiko's hands.

"Yumiko?" exclaimed Yukiko.

Mitsuko appeared to have pinned Yoji down to the floor. The two were no longer struggling, and Mitsuko was winning the fight. Yoji was crying out, insults flying from his red face. It was scary to see, but Yumiko knew what she had to do.

_God help me…_

Raising the gun to point at Mitsuko, she pulled the trigger.

----- E7

"Darling, so glad you decided to join me!" exclaimed Shou, as he pointed the derringer down at the whimpering Yutaka.

Yutaka had no idea what to say. Shou was a bad kid, he hung around with Kazuo... Yutaka was absolutely terrified...

Shou grinned. "Little Yutaka Seto... Mimura's little bum chum, how quaint!"

Yutaka's lips wobbled as he produced some sort of noise that sounded like the word 'no', but could have been anything.

Shou raised an eyebrow critically. "Oh, don't wet yourself Yutaka! I'm only killing you!"

Yutaka uttered a shriek at this comment.

Shou raised his free hand to his mouth as he giggled. "Whoops-a-daisy! Did we say that out loud? Oh darling, how silly!"

He fired the trigger mercilessly.

The gun would normally be a complete piece of crap, but at the range, Yutaka didn't stand a chance. His head flew backwards, the rest of his body flailing momentarily, before finally coming to rest, still.

Shou smiled. "Delicious..."

Rising up, he began to set off once more, licking his lips briefly. "Where are you Kazuo?" he mused out loud. _You can't possibly expect me to let you deny me anymore..._

He smirked. "Yes darling... we shall have him all for ourselves..."

_Don't we just crave him..._

----- H5

Mitsuko flew over to her side, clutching her upper thigh, where the bullet wound was bleeding heavily.

"Run Yoji!" shrieked Yukiko.

Yoji had screamed with shock himself when he had heard the gunshot, and looking up, and seeing Yumiko and Yukiko... he hardly needed encouraging. Whimpering, he leapt up, running up the stairs to where the two girls stood. He could feel himself starting to cry again.

Yukiko was taken aback. It had taken seemingly no time at all for Yoji to go from angry, and fighting almost like an animal to a crying wimp. She couldn't deny she was scared by it, but there was something more pressing on her mind.

Mitsuko was getting up.

_You can't help Mitsuko... she isn't going to stop, Yukiko..._

Mitsuko was lurching up the steps, at a feeble pace, yet she seemed now even more terrifying. Her eyes were wild, blazing with fiery hate, her hair billowing out and her face snarling maliciously.

"Guys?" Yoji shrieked, realising that Yumiko and Yukiko both seemed reluctant to leave. "Guys, run!"

_You can't help her Yukiko!_

_RUN!_


	7. Chapter 7

----- G9

The clinic was a spacious building, with ample rooms to safely house a good group of students. There was a main kitchen and lounge area, with doors leading off to bedrooms and a bathroom that would have been almost luxurious, had it not been ransacked by the government. The whole building lay in darkness, the air cool and the dust settled.

There was a smashing noise, and a few shards of glass fell onto the floor just by the door like frost. A porky hand reached in through the newly created hole in the door window, and felt around for the handle. It grasped it, and pushed down.

The door opened up, a faint light cast by the moonlight into the clinic.

Hiroshi turned to Ryuhei. "You make sure she don't run off."

"Hey, what the fuck you giving orders for now?"

Hiroshi smirked. "Fine, you wanna stay with her or go check the building for anyone else? I don't mind either." Hiroshi knew that Ryuhei could be a coward sometimes, at least when he didn't have the shadow of Mitsuru or Kazuo to jump into when the stakes got too high. Hiroshi wasn't that type of git. He preferred to stand on his own with his hands in his pockets. Sure, he knew how to handle himself, but he wasn't the type to get into violence for no reason, like Ryuhei. Thankfully, it seemed Hiroshi was right about his friend's lack of courage.

"Umm... I'll stay with her, I think I should. She's a sneaky one... there's probably no one in the house anyway!"

Hiroshi nodded dryly, turning and walking into the house. His dagger was drawn as he peered around. He didn't expect there to be anyone here, and if so, the only people let out before them of any threat were Kazuo and Shogo. Hiroshi wasn't keen to meet with either. Shogo was a tough guy, the quiet type, the ones who always ended up being most dangerous. And when it came to dangerous, Kazuo was in a league all of his own.

Yuko stood shaking slightly, staring around with wide eyes. Ryuhei had his weapon out now, a fan which at first, they had all assumed to be useless. That was until Ryuhei had pricked his finger trying to shove it back into his bag. Where there would normally be rods of wood or metal between which the material was stretched, there were sharp blades, totally concealed by the elaborate fan. A deadly weapon of deception indeed. At first glance, it was harmless, but if he were to thrust it at Yuko, she wouldn't stand much of a chance.

Not that she would have been able to run away if Ryuhei's weapon had been a toothbrush. The boys from the gang were so scary... bad kids... evil, and she hoped upon hope that someone would be able to find her, but till then, she was rooted to the spot in fear, doing anything they told her too, because she didn't know what else to do. She couldn't beat them on her own.

Ryuhei stared at her suspiciously. Admittedly, he was staring a little lower than Yuko would have liked, though him staring in her face was simply the lesser of two evils.

"What's your weapon then?" he asked slyly.

Yuko froze. What if she had something good? She couldn't let them take it away. Not that she'd use it, but if it was a gun, then the two of them would have a gun. She didn't want the bad kids to have a good weapon. _But... I'd never use it. Never..._

"He took it..." she said, turning her head towards the open doorway. She dared not lift her hand a point in case Ryuhei thought she was up to something and attacked her...

"Hey... Hiroshi!" Ryuhei called, his voice wavering slightly. He didn't like the fact that Hiroshi had taken Yuko's weapon and not told him what it was! They were like brothers!

"What?" called back another voice in annoyance.

"Come here Hiroshi!"

"What the fuck is it?"

"Just come!"

"... Oh for fuck's sake!"

There was the sound of footsteps before Hiroshi appeared at the doorway, looking disgruntled and pissed off. "What the hell?" he said, staring down at Ryuhei with a most unimpressed look. "This had better be good, I was busy!"

Yuko winced. They were going to find out she'd lied already! _Oh no! Oh god no! Stupid Yuko, so stupid!_

"What was..." Ryuhei began, but stopped as a loud mechanical sound pierced the air. Definitely gun fire, but it sounded very fast paced, like a lot of little shots at once. What was worse, was that the gunshots were being fired in their direction.

Yuko jumped in fright, a shrill scream escaping her throat, and Hiroshi cursed, sliding back inside the clinic slightly.

Ryuhei however, was not having such a fun time. He had fallen to the floor, howling in pain as he clutched his left leg, which had been pierced by the blast. "Fuck!" he screamed.

"You!" Hiroshi cried, pointing at Yuko. "Get him inside!"

Yuko gasped, but quickly ran to do what she was ordered to do. Ryuhei soon got back onto his remaining good foot, slightly supported by Yuko, though she wasn't the most sturdy classmate. They hobbled past Hiroshi, Ryuhei still howling loudly, and Yuko looking as if she was about to have a heart attack.

"Put me down there!" Ryuhei cried through broken gasps, pointing to a wooden chair that had been left upright in the main room.

Yuko lead him over as fast as she could possibly manage, whimpering all the time. _Touching a bad boy... Oh god..._

Eventually, they reached the chair, and Ryuhei slumped down into it, howling once more from the pain. As soon as he was down, Yuko leapt backwards automatically.

"Get the painkillers!" he cried.

Yuko's eyes widened, and her mouth hung open. Slowly she shook her head and grabbed the strap of her kit bag nervously. "I... I don't know..."

"It's a fucking clinic!" Ryuhei screeched. "Fucking look for them!"

Yuko bit her lip as she felt more tears come. She nodded nervously, and ran over to where there were a load of cabinets. Surely there would be something in there...

She opened up the door, and stared in at the assortment of drugs contained. It seemed the government had raided anything lethal, as the cabinet was a lot more empty than it should have been. She stared in, trying to read the labels, but it was far too dark. _Pain killers… Pain killers… If only we could turn on the light!_

Then, a thought came to her, and she kicked herself for how obvious it was.

_Flashlight!_

Nervously, she fiddled with the zip on her bag, to try and fish out the flashlight. _Does he have to make so much scary noise?_ she thought, as Ryuhei's wails rose and fell in the air.

Finally, she managed to unzip her bag, feeling around for the flashlight.

Her hand touched briefly on something small.

A bottle of something... a tiny bottle...

She grabbed it, and pulled it out. In her other hand, she grabbed the flashlight and switched it on so she could read the label.

_"Hydrocyanic Acid  
Poison"_

Yuko's eyes widened. _My weapon is... is poison?_

"Is that it?" Ryuhei shrieked, as he glanced over at Yuko. She bit her lip again. _Evil boy... he's a evil boy... but you can't kill him! No no no! Murder is bad! Murder is evil!_

_But so is he!_

_He's a bad boy... nasty... he yells things at the girls, bad things..._

_Unholy things..._

"Yeah." She said, trembling.

"Then fucking give it here! This hurts!" Ryuhei screamed.

Yuko whimpered, and ran over, handing the bottle to Ryuhei. He was obviously desperate for the pain killers, as he didn't even look at the bottle, he just opened it and downed the contents without question.

Yuko took a few steps back. Then some more.

Ryuhei wasn't watching her, he was once again inspecting his leg and making pained noises. There was still no sign of Hiroshi.

Hiroshi had closed the door, and was peering out of the hole in the window he had created himself. He knew it wouldn't be much protection against gunfire, but at least it was something. He at least needed to know who he was up against.

The landscape looked back at him, dark and foreboding, refusing to give up the secret of their assailant.

The knife held steadily in his hand as he stared out suspiciously. _Come out, come out... Wherever you are, you piece of sh---_ His thoughts were cut short by an ear piercing scream from inside the clinic. It came again, and again, accompanied by some sort of gurgling noise.

_Fuck, what now?_ Thought Hiroshi in annoyance, as he got up and moved quickly into the main room.

Yuko had backed over to the far wall, where she cowered in the shadows, screeching blue murder and trembling. Ryuhei was sitting on a chair in the middle of the room, facing away from Hiroshi. His body was spasming a bit, and his head hung over, his hand up, clutching either his mouth or his neck, though Hiroshi couldn't tell which from behind.

"Ryuhei, what's going on?" he called out.

There was no response in Ryuhei, the spasms only seemed to get more violent.

"Ryuhei!" Hiroshi cried, moving over to the chair. He could tell that something was wrong.

Very wrong...

No sooner had he reached the chair though, when Ryuhei's hands flew away from his head, his body entering into a violent seizure as a sudden wave of crimson exploded across the room. Blood was flying from Ryuhei's mouth, accompanied by a sickening low pitched gurgling, squelching sound, before his body coiled over, landing face up with a splash. His mouth was fixed in a horrific expression of terror and torment, his lips bulging and loosing their colour.

Hiroshi leapt backwards. "Fuck!" His eyes immediately flew up to Yuko, who was trembling so badly, it was as if she was holding her very own earthquake.

"You!" he cried out, raising an accusing finger. _Women! Fucking scheming backstabbing women!_ "You did this!"

Yuko shook her head violently, yet did not cease to scream.

_Scream... Fuck!_ Hiroshi thought, suddenly remembering that they had only just been attacked. He glanced once more at Ryuhei, then back at Yuko. "You, don't you fucking dare to move..."

He hurried back to the door, and glanced out of the hole in the window.

_Shit!_

Hiroshi leapt backwards. Not only could he see who had just attacked them, but he could also see that they had moved forward, and were now only a few meters away from the door, walking right towards them. Cursing, he got up, and ran through the clinic, ignoring the scream Yuko produced at his return.

_They're playing… he's really playing! Fuck! Back way... there has to be a way out through the back..._

Yuko attempted to press herself further into the corner as he rushed past her.

Soon, Hiroshi's footsteps died away, and the slamming of a door confirmed that he was gone. Just her. Along, in the clinic, with Ryuhei's body, the contorted and pained face staring at her... the swollen and blue lips... the whitening eyes... the dulling skin.

_So that's what devils really look like..._

Then, there was another sound. Another door... someone had opened the front door.

Yuko's eyes widened even further with yet more fear. _Oh no, no no no! Not me!_

A shadow was cast into the room from the portion of light let in by the open door, and footsteps proceeded towards the room at regular and precise intervals, till a lowly figure came to stand still in the doorway to the room, staring at her and Ryuhei.

Yuko gasped.

"Kazuo..."


	8. Chapter 8

----- G9

It would appear that the gun was not as effective as he had anticipated.

At close range, yes, but long range, he seemed to have been unable to hit Ryuhei on target. Another disadvantage of the gun was the rate it used up ammunition, just like he had previously read. That meant that the machine was inefficient. Most inefficient.

Kiriyama turned the handle of the clinic door. Inside were three variables that he had seen with clarity before he had opened fire. In his mind, he quickly passed over the few details he could remember.

_Ryuhei Sasagawa, Boy number 10. Was originally being bullied by Mitsuru Numai. Favourite subject: Sport. Most disliked subject: Maths. Most regularly purchased lunch: Anything containing rice. Ryuhei likes Rice salted. Sometimes he would get his mother to make it that way. Home life: Better certainly than Hiroshi or Mitsuru, yet less than myself of Shou. The house lacked emotional attachment or support but was not violent. It has been suggested that emotional attachment and support is critical in a child's development. A theory held by behavioural psychologists..._

He continued to recall any facts that he could remember at high speed as he swung the door open and walked inside.

The smell on the air was that of blood, and there was a whimpering sound coming from a doorway that inevitably would lead to a larger room, if Kazuo was familiar with the architectural design. It was a style most commonly used in suburban housing that incorporated business facilities, including clinics. A most efficient piece of information to have remembered. Indeed.

The whimpering sound was vastly likely to be that of Yuko Sakaki, girl number 9 who showed strong religious conviction, something Kazuo found highly... interesting.

He moved at a casual speed into the larger room, which was a little larger than he had anticipated, yet only a little.

There was Yuko, in the corner, her body language expressing quite clearly that she was scared. Interesting. In the centre of the room was a large amount of blood, and Ryuhei's body. Kazuo could not detect any sign that Hiroshi was still there.

"What happened?" Kazuo asked.

It seemed Yuko had not been expecting this, as she entered more whimpering, before calming down enough to say "Hiroshi poisoned Ryuhei..."

Kazuo nodded. From the way she spoke, the likelihood of her lying was fairly high, though he knew there was no way to tell for definite. It would be advantageous to find out if she was or not. "What is your weapon?"

Yuko looked around nervously, before her eyes fell on an object near Ryuhei. "A fan!"

This reaction made it even more likely she was lying. She had actually had to look for it, and considering the situation, it was unlikely that she would forget her weapon. It was also unlikely that Ryuhei would have been holding it if it was hers. The fan was probably Ryuhei's weapon. Probably. Though he wouldn't know for sure, Kazuo knew it was wise to assume things when the likelihood was this high. He had to play the odds. That was how casino's worked, and how they always ended up making money. "And Hiroshi?" he asked.

"He... took Ryuhei's knife and ran!" Yuko cried. "Please... don't... shoot"

Kazuo tilted his head to the side. It was an intriguing request. The gun was inefficient, and he had not been able to kill Ryuhei, yet it appeared Yuko had. Kazuo theorised that most members of the class would feel more intimidated by him than Yuko. She would make an interesting partner certainly, as she was evidentially more lethal than she seemed. But Kazuo knew the truth, and would keep an eye on her. If he knew what she was up to, she wouldn't be able to outwit him. The probability of it was low. Very low indeed.

"Don't shoot..." Yuko repeated, her voice trembling with fear.

"Alright." Kazuo said coldly, lowering the gun.

----- F5

_Oh... what the hell am I doing?_

Haruka couldn't help but laugh.

_This is fucking ridiculous!_

She was currently walking around with her police baton raised threateningly, as if anyone who saw it would be completely overcome with fear. _Oh, what are you playing at? You really think you can try stop the fighting? Really think your the policewoman now? Ha!_

"This is pathetic" she mumbled to herself. She knew that she had to do something to stop her class from killing each other, but acting like a little policewoman was more comical than helpful. "What I need..."

_"You just need to calm down!"_

_"Don't tell me what to do!"_

_"I'm your father! What I say goes!" Mr. Tanizawa said harshly._

_Haruka hated everything about her father. His stupid looking moustache... the way that when he shouted, he always spat at her... and the way he hurt her mother._

_"Haruka please..." Mrs. Tanizawa called out from behind her daughter. "Daddy just slipped. It doesn't matter..."_

_"You heard your mother! Now scoot!"_

_But Haruka wouldn't budge. "You didn't slip! You meant to hit her! Don't fucking patronise me!"_

_"What you need, young lady, is to calm down and learn some manners!"_

_Calm down..._

Haruka rubbed her eyes. She was beginning to feel sleepy. "What I need..." she mumbled to herself, staring up at the sky.

"What I need is a gun..."

She moved forward once more, angrily swatting the branches of the trees out of her way with the baton.

"Yeah right... my fucking lucky day... what a fuck up..."

Haruka looked up. The voice had been very close. Someone was near. Definitely a girl... and it sounded like... Hirono.

Haruka smiled. Hirono was a bad girl, yes. Probably playing as well... maybe she'd have a gun. She knew what she had to do. Stop people from playing the game. Whatever means necessary...

As Haruka crouched down behind a large tree, she saw Hirono briefly through the leaves. The other girl was still muttering to herself.

"Stupid ass... just my luck... ah fuck it..."

Haruka gripped the baton even tighter in her hands. Hirono appeared through the leaves once more... she was only a few meters away from Haruka, and it seemed the girl was soaking wet, and covered in mud. Haruka stared on in confusion.

"Stupid puddle." Hirono muttered spitefully. "Thinks its so tough just coz it's all big and muddy and just coz I fell in. Little shit."

Haruka tried to suppress her giggle at this. The image of Hirono falling into a puddle was more than amusing. Poetic justice in a way. However, it seemed to be a bad move for Haruka. Hirono had heard.

"Who's there?" Hirono cried, raising the gun. "Mitsu, that you?"

Haruka leapt back so her back was to the tree. _Ah crap..._

"Who is it? Hey, I heard you alright, just come out!"

Silence.

"I'll shoot!"

More silence.

Hirono sighed. "Ah screw it. Fucking badger or sommat... stupid puddle..."

Suddenly, a new darkness was cast upon them. Hirono looked up at the sky. The moon was once more being blocked by clouds. _Ah crap..._

Sinking to the floor, Hirono fumbled around for her flashlight. _Probably won't work... sodding thing. Just my luck..._

Haruka gripped the baton tightly again. Hirono had threatened to shoot. _She has a gun..._ Haruka smiled. _What I need..._

_Is a gun..._

----- H5

"Yumiko?"

"Where's Yoji?"

"I'm here? Where are you guys?"

The three of them were completely lost in the darkness, fumbling around in the ruins blindly. The concealing of the moon had completely taken away their ability to see in the shadows of the ruin, and Mitsuko was probably in there with them by now.

Yoji had one hand out to the side, one pointing in front of him. The one to his side ran against the stony wall, and the one in front stopped him from running flat into something... or someone. There was supposed to be a solution to mazes... if you turn left every time, or was it right?

"Guys! I dropped the gun! I dropped it!"

Yoji looked around, trying to work out which direction Yumiko's voice had come from. Somewhere to the left...

"Yumiko?" he cried out.

There was no response.

A new sense of panic washed over Yoji... what had happened?

"Yumiko!" called out another voice from even further away. It was Yukiko...

Yoji stumbled forward blindly, in the direction Yumiko's voice had come from. _Please let her be OK... please!_

Yukiko was crawling on all fours, trying to keep her breathing under control. Surely everyone would be able to hear her at the rate her heart was beating. _Yumiko..._

She couldn't be dead... she simply couldn't! They had always been best friends... _Always!_ Yumiko had always been there for Yukiko when it mattered most. She couldn't loose her now.

_I'm coming Yumiko..._ Yukiko thought determinedly, as she moved forward at a faster pace.

Yoji was sure he was close now. He didn't want to call out for Yumiko again... she hadn't answered last time anyway, and he didn't want to give Mitsuko another change to locate them.

He stepped forward again... stumbled, and nearly fell flat on his face. He had trodden on something... a loose rock, or something like that.

He reached down with his hands, his fingers moving across the cold and damp stone floor. They came to rest on something metallic. The gun!

Yoji picked it up slowly, his hand automatically gripping it by the handle with a finger on the trigger. Something about it... something felt uncomfortable. Yoji didn't want to hold the gun. He shuddered.

He slowly backed away into the corner. Yumiko wasn't there... _What could have happened to her?_

In his head though, only one answer would present itself. _She's dead..._

Yoji stared into the darkness, the gun raised. He was shaking with fear. Mitsuko could be anywhere. She could be standing right in front of him and he wouldn't know! Right in front of him! She could be inches away from his face!

Yoji felt his finger press down on the trigger. Gasping, he released it immediately. _No... no... calm down Yoji..._

_Yoshimi smiled. "It's nothing to get worked up about."_

_Yoji whimpered. "But... now it looks really crappy... it really sucks!"_

_"Yoji..." Yoshimi said soothingly. "It's... it's only a pastry..."_

_Yoji looked up at her, and slowly smiled. She was so beautiful. And so kind... always looking out for him. "But... it was a really nice pastry... and some of the filling fell out..." his voice trailed away. Yoshimi was right. It was only a pastry._

_They both started giggling at the same time._

_Yoshimi sighed. Yoji had always been unpredictable. He was the type of person who could well throw an anger fit because he dropped a pencil, then not be bothered if his house burnt down. But still... it did make him cuter. Yoshimi knew that with Yoji, at least he was always honest with how he felt. It might not always be easy, but truth never was. It was better than going out with someone who always lied about their feelings. Yoshimi didn't want to live a lie._

_"We could get ice cream afterwards..." Yoshimi suggested, an Yoji nodded._

_"Yeah, OK. Oh oh oh! I know a place that does the most divine chocolate ice cream ever!" he squealed excitedly._

_Yoshimi laughed. "You're such a dork."_

_Yoji grinned, but then felt someone behind him, pushing him to the side. He glanced up to see a tall girl with long hair walking past. She'd pushed past without even saying 'excuse me'..._

_"Oh... Mitsuko..." Yoshimi said, glancing back at Yoji, "Are you OK?"_

_Yoji nodded, glaring at Mitsuko, who still seemed to be unaware of his presence. She smiled down at Yoshimi. "Me and Hirono found some guy downtown who sells a good time. Just a few pills, we're going to try them tonight. You up for it?"_

_"Erm..." Yoshimi bit her lip. "... sure. OK."_

_"Great, see you tonight. Hiro's place." Mitsuko said, moving away once more slyly through the crowd. It was as if she had never been there at all._

_Yoshimi moved over to Yoji, who was looking severely pissed off. "Sorry about that..."_

_Yoji didn't respond for a while. "She pushed straight past me..."_

_"She can be a bit... eager to get through crowds..."_

_"But she made me spill some more filling from the pastry!"_

_Yoshimi sighed._

Was that sound the wind or someone's breathing?

Yoji whirled around in a panic, the gun pointing in one random direction, then another, then another. He targeted invisible enemies blindly. Where was she? Where was Mitsuko hiding? _Where the hell are you?_

_"Who is the extra?"_

Yoji's face curled into a snarl. Mitsuko never cared about him. Never cared about Yoshimi. She was playing for definite... a selfish bitch. She didn't deserve to be spared. She killed Yumiko...

Yoji could never forgive her for that.

_Where the hell are you?_

There was a sound from behind him caused Yoji to whirl around again, the gun aiming blindly. Had he imagined it? Where was...

Then he felt it. Something on his back. A hand... someone was grabbing him from behind!

_Yoji grinned, but then felt someone behind him, pushing him to the side. He glanced up to see a tall girl with long hair walking past. She'd pushed past without even saying 'excuse me'..._

_MITSUKO..._

Yoji swung around, crying out into the night. "NO!"_ I will kill you!_

He fired the trigger.

The sound echoed around the ruins.

Everything felt like it was in slow motion. Yoji's chest rose and fell with breathing slowly, his heartbeat ringing in his ears.

Then he felt something fall against him. A body... Mitsuko's body falling against him. He cried out once more in fear as he and the corpse fell against the wall.

Then, the moon once more showed it's face. It peered gently through a hole in the clouds, casting it's gentle light peacefully on the land below.

Yoji opened his eyes in horror. For a flash of a second, he glanced down at the body he had just shot.

Short hair.

The body had short hair, not long hair like Mitsuko!

Yoji screamed, pushing the body away, and running as fast as he could, not daring to look back. _Yumiko... I shot Yumiko... Oh fuck! Jesus Christ! I MURDERED her!_

"Help! Yumiko! Yoji!"

Yoji came to a halt. Yukiko... that was Yukiko's voice!

"Help! Please!" her voice shook as if she was crying. "Mitsuko, please no!"

Yoji stood rooted to the spot, tearful and trembling, the gun still clutched in his hand. _I killed her..._

_Murderer..._

"Help!"


	9. Chapter 9

----- F5

Hirono felt the metallic cool feeling of her flashlight in her grip, and smiling, drew it out. The darkness was closing in now, constricting and claustrophobic. She sighed and clicked it on.

For a fleeting moment, light flickered from the end of the flashlight before it was extinguished. "Ah crap..." Hirono muttered. "Just my luck."  
She reached a hand into her bag and began to search once more. "Where the hell is Kayoko's?" she wondered out loud.

In the darkness, still backed against the tree, Haruka's eyes widened. _"Where the hell is Kayoko's?"_

The image of Kayoko's crumpled body outside the school flashed inside Haruka's mind. _Hirono killed Kayoko... Hirono killed Kayoko..._

Haruka felt like she was going to throw up.

_She's playing! What if she killed Yukie or... or Satomi or the others? She still could! That bitch!_

She gripped the baton tightly in her hand, trying to muster up the strength to rush forward and attack. She had to. She was protecting the others. _They arn't strong enough... Chisato and Yuko... they'll never survive unless I protect them!_

She cried out, almost a war cry, mostly to try and gather her courage. Hirono whirled around. "Who the fuck?"

Still screaming, Haruka ran around the tree, and towards where she had seen Hirono before. She disappeared into the darkness... still swinging the baton.

Then the moon once again revealed itself.

Haruka stopped. Hirono wasn't there...

----- H5

"Mitsuko!" Yukiko cried again, tears pouring down her face.

Mitsuko's face was set in a predatory grin as the two girls struggled on the floor. Mitsuko was on top of Yukiko, pinning her down with her larger weight and free arm while the other pushed the sickle closer and closer to Yukiko's neck. Both of Yukiko'sarms were up, trying to push the arm with the sickle in back up, but even with one hand, Mitsuko was beginning to win...

_"The more you're loved, the more it grows!" _

"How old are you? Jesus, still no breasts! what thehell is wrong with you?"

"You can tell me what happened Mitsuko... you can trust me..."

Mitsuko sneered. _No... not this time. This time it'll be my way!_

"Mitsuko, we can work together!" Yukiko shrieked. "Please! We don't have to play!"

Mitsuko laughed, easily keeping Yukiko pinned down and helpless. "Are you offering your help little girl? I don't need yourfucking help..."

"Don't let them do this to you!" Yukiko pleaded, letting out another high pitched shriek as the sickle's blade was pushed further towards her neck by Mitsuko's superior strength.

"Too late now Yukiko... to late, they've already done it to me. Again and again!" Mitsuko howled with laughter once more. "I've had enough of letting people help me..." _They say they'll give, but they take! Take! TAKE!_ "I'll make it painless if you stop struggling..."

Yukiko whimpered. _"That's... my thing." she said weakly.  
Yumiko looked confused. "What do you mean, Yukiko?"  
Yukiko smiled. "Mimura is good with computers, Shuuya is good at leading people, Hiroki has martial arts. Everyone has a strength. Yours is making everyone feel good about themselves. I just realised what mine is."  
"What?" Yumiko asked, looking as if she wasn't really following.  
"I don't give up." Yukiko said, rising to her feet, and reaching out her arms for a hug, which Yumiko returned. "Thanks for reminding me." she whispered into her friend's ear.  
"Don't mention it." Yumiko said proudly. "You worked it out yourself."_

"Yumiko!" Yukiko cried. _I don't know how much longer I can go without giving up..._

Mitsuko pushed harder, and the sickle lowered once more. Yukiko shrieked as she could feel the metal just skimming the skin.

_They take take take! That's why you have to take first!_

Suddenly, a loud banging sound filled her ears, and she screamed again, closing her eyes as tightly as she could. The sickle fell to the ground with a clatter to her side, and she felt Mitsuko's body relieve it's grip.

She slowly opened her eyes. Mitsuko's body was lying on the ground next to her. The malicious lustful grin was still there, almost as if carved in stone. She would have looked alive, had it not been for the bullet wound to the side of her head.

In front of Yukiko, Yoji was standing, trembling, and holding the gun, his face steaming with tears.

"Yoji..." Yukiko whimpered. She had no idea what to say. She was half glad that Mitsuko was now dead, but half dismayed at herself for thinking it. Despite the fact that Yoji had just saved her life, she was now feeling frightened of him. _He killed her... he's a murderer..._

"Yukiko! Hurry, we need to get away from here!"  
"Where's Yumiko!" Yukiko cried, tears streaming down her face. "Where is she?"  
Yoji avoided looking her in the eyes. "She's dead. Mitsuko must have got to her before she got to you..." he lied.

Yukiko stared at Yoji for a moment, saying nothing. Her head felt empty, completely devoid of thought.

Then there slowly rose her life. Her world. Everything she had done was with Yumiko. Everything she thought, she had shared with Yumiko. Everything that she was. Her and Yumiko, the odd couple. They had been through so much...

The fragile structure of Yukiko's life was totally dependant on Yumiko. And now, it crumbled around her, piece by piece being violently shredded away, ripped from her.

She stared around frantically. "No no, that can't be! You see... we're always together... she can't die without me... no no! There's been some mistake! We have to find her!"  
"She's dead!" Yoji cried. "Please Yukiko, before someone else who's playing turns up! We have to run!"  
Yukiko shook her head as she shook on the ground. "Can't... can't go without her..."

Yoji sniffed, and wiped away his own tears. _No... she needs you now. You have to be strong for her..._ He grit his teeth, and ran forward, first tucking the gun into his belt.  
Yukiko shrieked as he lifted her off her feet, but found she was to weak to resist, as he began to run with her in his arms. _Yumiko... I need you... please..._ "Say it isn't true!" she cried, before bursting into another fresh round of tears.  
Yoji couldn't even bare to look down at her in this state. _It's your fault... _

You killed her...

You're a murderer...

Yoji was running through the forest now, only an occasional whimper escaping Yukiko's mouth. It was dark, and very hard to see. Neither had their bags, so they didn't have their flashlights. All they had was a gun, and each other.

They came into a clearing, and Yoji collapsed. It had finally become too much. The pain of knowing what he had done, and of being with the person it would hurt the most.

Yukiko was already asleep as he laid her on the grass. She looked peaceful now.

Yoji laid back too, sinking down on the soft ground. He felt so drained. So tired. It couldn't be happening... the whole thing had to be a bad dream... _Please... let me wake up! Let me wake up! I don't want to have killed anyone! I didn't mean to kill anyone!_

Even as Yoji slipped into a quiet sleep, the tears continued to slowly drop down his troubled face.

----- F5

Hirono sneered. _Bitch tried to creep up on me! Good thing I heard her! Ha ha, this is just such a lucky day!_

She had simply slipped over to the side and behind a small plant once she had heard Haruka, first intending to get away, but when the light had restored itself, she had looked up to see Haruka in the clearing swiping madly at air with a baton. She had a crap weapon, and she looked like afucking retard. What's more, was that Hirono was holding a gun, and Haruka was facing the other way. The tallest girl in the class had now stopped, and seemed to be about to look around. She hardly needed the situation explaining to her.

She raised the gun and fired.

It impacted to the back of Haruka's skull, sending out a grotesque cracking noise of her skull being shattered. Brains and blood exploded outwards from the front of Haruka's face, and she collapsed onto the ground with a light thud.

Hirono stared for a few moments. It was all over so quickly... _Was that it? _

Slowly, she began to grin.


	10. Chapter 10

----- G9

"It would be advantageous to fortify this building if we are to stay here." Kazuo said, staring at Yuko plainly, as if he had just answered a simple question in the classroom.

Yuko stared up at him with big fearful eyes. Ryuhei had been a bad boy... an evil boy... but this was Kazuo, he was even worse! He had shot at them, and he didn't look like he cared! It was as if he hadn't even noticed Ryuhei! There was a dead body of his friend in the room and he didn't care at all!

"OK" she mumbled weakly.

_Get away! Get away from him! He's evil!_

"I... I need to pee!" Yuko shrieked melodramatically. It was a tactic she had used at school when she got too scared. It was much easier to say than explaining in front of everyone that simply being in a room with them made her scared. And teachers never refused her when she asked. After all, she was sweet Yuko Sakaki! Who could say no to her?

Kazuo tilted his head to the side. "If you wish to urinate, I suggest you use the facilities."

Yuko nodded, and gut up, shaking as she did so, before running at full speed to the nearest door.

Kazuo looked on in interest. How peculiar. According to his memory of this style of architecture, Yuko had just run into a room most likely used as a bedroom, rather than a bathroom, which is what he had intended. He would have called out to her to inform her, but he really had no reason to do so.

Yuko slammed the door shut, and placed her hand against her chest. Her heart had been pounding so much that it was beginning to hurt. _Calm down... just calm down..._

Yuko looked up, and found that she wasn't in a bathroom, but a bedroom. It didn't matter anyway, just as long as she wasn't in the same room as Kazuo.

There was a window in the room, but Yuko had left her bag and the tessen in the room with Kazuo, so if she were to run away, she probably wouldn't last long. But would she anyway? _What do I have? I can't run fast, I can't fight anyone, and I get scared of everything..._

_What do I have?_

But no answer came. All Yuko could hear was the sound of Kazuo's footsteps. She shuddered. _An evil boy..._

Yuko looked up...

And almost leapt out of her skin. There was someone standing outside the window, looking inside! Yuko could tell straight away that it was a girl. _Oh, thank you God... not a boy... not a demon boy..._

The girl seemed to be gesturing Yuko over to the window, and Yuko responded, getting up and walking over cautiously. After a few steps, she could make out exactly who it was. Mizuho Inada.

She was a girl that Yuko hadn't talked to much, mainly because Mizuho only spent time with Megumi and Kaori. She always seemed a bit weird to Yuko. Talking about strange things... blasphemous things...

But she was only a girl, not a girl like Mitsuko though. She was probably scared, just like Yuko was. _She isn't evil... she just hasn't found God... she's not evil like Kazuo..._

Mizuho was motioning with her hands for Yuko to open the window. Yuko nodded. _She just hasn't found God..._

Mizuho smiled graciously as Yuko stumbled over to the window. _She is not a magi, but she is pure of heart..._ Mizuho thought, as the window swung open.

Yuko gazed in awe. Just as she had been opening the window, the sky behind Mizuho had begun to lighten. She didn't realise that this was simply because of the now rising sun. To her, it looked... saintly, as Mizuho was outlined in golden light.

"Shh..." she whispered as Mizuho stepped in. "Kazuo..."

Mizuho nodded. "Are you unharmed?" she asked in a hushed voice.

Yuko nodded. "I'm fine."

"I seek refuge myself." Mizuho explained. "It seems a daemon had caught my scent. I was chased by Kyouichi. It seems his soul has already been lost..."

"What?" Yuko asked in awe.

"The daemon within him!" Mizuho explained melodramatically, still somehow managing to keep her voice down. "It had taken his soul, and he was no more!"

Yuko couldn't believe what she was hearing. Mizuho knew about the daemons? She believed in them too? She wouldn't laugh or look away like the others at school. She too knew and loved God!

"Mizuho!" Yuko hissed. "What are we going to do about Kazuo! He is the purest of evil!"

Mizuho stared out of the window for a brief moment, gazing at the sunset. _Yuko's question is a worthy one. What about this daemon? Must I flee once more, or am I to vanquish it?_

It was Melodius who answered first, in his cold yet somehow loving voice. _This is not a case of demonic evil as naive Yuko believes. Kazuo is possessed..._

_By an infernal daemon._ Lucien added. _A most grotesque enemy of Ahura Mazda. Killing the host will only strengthen it. You must banish the daemon from the body..._

Mizuho turned to Yuko and smiled. "We must vanquish the daemon from Kazuo's heart and restore him to his body."

Yuko gasped. "He's possessed? How do you know?"

"Child of little faith? I was instructed to vanquish the daemon by the divine forces."

Yuko's mouth broke into a wide smile. _Divine forces! All this time, she was a warrior for Jesus, and I never knew!_ "But we're only children!" Yuko said. "We can't excommunicate him!"

"It is our holy duty." Mizuho said, as if it were the simplest of facts. "We must try. If your conviction will shatter when put to the test, maybe it is best I undertake this alone..."

"No! My faith is as strong as anyone's!" Yuko said assertively, almost scared by her own self confidence.

Mizuho smiled again. _She is indeed a holy warrior of Ahura Mazda. Thank you for leading me to her..._

Melodius smiled, which was rare from him. _Do not thank us, daughter of destiny. It has been written in the starts that this must happen..._

Kazuo closed the cabinet door. Apart from rice, the clinic offered very little sustenance. In his mind, he searched for the memory of a cookery textbook.

In an instant, it came, and Kazuo began to busy himself with making some rice. He was perfectly aware that someone else was in the room with Yuko. For one, he had heard the window being opened, and a heavy footstep afterwards, suggesting that someone had climbed in. For another, the footsteps had now become out of time and more frequent, when he could quite clearly remember that Yuko's footsteps had been perfectly synchronised on their own when she had run into the room.

But there was no need to investigate. Whoever it was seemed to be trusting Yuko, as there was no signs of a struggle in the room, which was what Kazuo had kept her for. If they turned on him, he had the superior weapon, unless the assailant also had a machine gun, which was statistically unlikely. It would be much more productive to prepare some food than to get into a gunfight which might prove unnecessary.

Of course, it could be a student who had an escape plan. Kazuo knew that no one had escaped before then, but it was possible. The programe had all sorts of flaws in it that could be exploited. Kazuo would have investigated them himself, but it didn't really matter to him. Someone with passion about escape would be more productive in formulating an escape plan than him, even though he was naturally far more intelligent and creative.

Mizuho had taken out a water bottle from her hit bag, and was busy casting a blessing on it to make it holy. Yuko watched, inspired by Mizuho's moving yet silent lips as she cast her hand over the water. Yuko had also found a crucifix on the table next to the bed, and she was beginning to feel a lot safer. She had also taken Mizuho's gun, though she didn't know why. Mizuho had told her that _"The sabre of light is better off with you. I am protected by my purity."_ And while Yuko hadn't understood, she took the gun, and nodded, though she didn't intend to use it.

Mizuho looked up. "This water is now pure and blessed with the favour of the Gods." she said.

Yuko nodded. For a moment, she could swear Mizuho had said Gods instead of God, but she must have misheard.

"Are you ready, disciple of light?"

"Yes, I am truly ready!"

Kazuo had just finished preparing the rice when the door to the bedroom burst open. He looked up curiously to see Yuko and Mizuho standing in the doorway, both looking determined.

"Greetings Mizuho Inada, girl number 1." Kazuo said in monotone. "Yuko Sakaki, have you now relieved yourself?"

"Silence daemon!" Mizuho screeched, opening the lid of the bottles water. "Do not mock a warrior of light!"

Kazuo tilted his head to the side. _She appears to be delusional. How interesting._

"Leave this body!" Yuko cried, tears pouring down her face as she raised the crucifix. "You have no place in God's creation!"

Mizuho rose up as tall as she could, before waving the bottle around, sending droplets of the blessed water flying around the room.

"I vanquish thee, oh pitiful daemon, in the name of Ahura Mazda! The power of light compels you!"

"Ahura Mazda." Kazuo repeated. "A figure from the mythology of Zoroastrianism."

"Mythology?" Mizuho screamed angrily. "Did you just say mythology?"

Yuko had shrunk back a little, clutching the crucifix to her chest. _Mythology! Blasphemy! Mizuho was a heretic all along! Oh, what have I done?_

"Ahura Mazda is not mythology! She shall cast down her revenge on you for this scorn!" Mizuho screamed passionately, advancing on Kazuo, who simply gazed at her.

"I am not aware of scientific proof of religion." he said calmly.

Mizuho sneered, and threw the remaining water at Kazuo.

She gazed in wonder as the golden liquid flew forward, forming the shape of a holy arrow as it did so. It smashed into the scaly daemon, extinguishing the foul fire of it's mouth.

The daemon screamed in anguish as it's very skin was burnt by the purity of the holy water, before smoke began to gather. Huge puffs of smoke, whirling around the daemon in a tornado of redemption! A holy example of justice! Mizuho screamed gleefully. _I can feel it! I can feel the power of Ahura Mazda! I can feel it running through my body!_

Pelephion called down from the heavens to her. _Ahura Mazda has accepted you as the holy warrior! You have fulfilled your destiny! You are the daughter of her holy destiny!_

"Yes! Yes!" Mizuho shrieked.

_It is done..._ Lucien whispered.

Mizuho gazed at the daemon once more. But there was no daemon anymore, just a handsome youth, dressed in the traditional robes of the passage of manhood. Mizuho smiled. "It is done..." she repeated.

Kazuo looked down at his wet clothes, and then up at Mizuho, who was standing between him and Yuko, gazing up at the ceiling, and looking as if she was about to loose balance. Her limbs moved without grace, angled oddly, as if she was beginning to loose control of her body. She was dribbling from the nose and the mouth.

"I am the chosen one..." Mizuho gurgled happily.

"Heretic!" Yuko said in a deep and grining voice from behind her, sounding as if she herself was possessed. "I trusted you and you were a heretic..."

Mizuho wobbled, almost as if trying to turn and face Yuko.

But then Yuko erupted in a fit of absolute hate. "A dirty! Filthy! Heretic!" She screamed, her voice echoing unpleasantly around the clinic as she raised Mizuho's gun, and began firing it at her. "A traitor! You are Judas incarnate!"

Mizuho could feel the bullets fly through her, but it hardly mattered anymore.

_Make me one with the light..._

Now, the holy trinity answered in unison. _Prexia Dickanne, you shall be lifted up and make at one with the light. Feed from the holy light of Ahura Mazda, the divine creed has been fulfilled. You have passed the great test..._

Mizuho's body fell over with a sickening thud. What interested Kazuo more than anything was the fact that Mizuho's face was still smiling, as if she was the happiest girl in the world.

_I am one with Ahura Mazda! I am the daughter of light!_

Yuko was shaking in the corner, sweat dripping from her face as the gun fell from her hands and clattered against the floor. _Heretic... An apostate of hell..._

She gazed up at Kazuo. "I thought you were the daemon but it was her... I had to, didn't you see? She was an apostate of hell... I had to shoot... it was God's will..."

Kazuo didn't respond.

"You saw!" Yuko shrieked. "It was God's will! You saw that! Tell me you saw it!"

It took Kazuo a while to respond, as he stared at Yuko with mild interest. "Rice?" he asked coldly.

----- H6

Kazushi Niida had been hiding out at the Farmer's Association Building. As far as he was concerned, it was just a huge shed full of crap you'd use on a farm. Nothing of any use to him at least. That was a pity really, considering his weapon was only a pencil sharpener, something he hadn't bothered to keep hold of.

He hadn't run into anyone either, apart from Kayoko's corpse outside the school. He didn't know anything about Battle Royale, so he had no idea what the chances of him having met someone by now was. He hadn't met any friends like Yoji or Ooki, and no enemies either, like Sugimura. _What a cock. Thinks he's so fucking tough just coz he does martial arts. Only reason girls like him and not me is coz of martial arts. Who cares! It's all faggy..._

Nor had he met Chigusa. Kazushi smiled. _Oh, now that bitch has it coming!_ He was simply dying to find her. Just to get his own back...

_"All those kids in class C think we're going out..." Kazushi muttered as he passed Chigusa's desk._

_She smiled up at him with sarcastic sweetness. "Good for them... do they think Kazuo and Yuka are going out too?"_

_Kazushi sneered. "What the hell is your problem? Why you always got to act like you used an icicle as a dildo and it got stuck?"_

_Chigusa laughed cynically. "Get a clue Niida..."_

"Thinks she's so fucking high and mighty..." he muttered under his breath angrily. "Stupid bitch..."

However, an electronic cracking sound broke his malicious thoughts. He stared up. "What the fuck?"

"Good morning class! I do so hope you all had a lovely night!"

Kazushi smiled, and reached out for his map and class list. _Let's see who I've beaten now then..._

"Not a bad start to a game, though I hope you intend to all try harder! Let's start with the list of those who have unfortunately failed this class! The boys..."

Kazushi could hear Kamon rustling some papers, evidentially trying to find the right list. "Hurry up..." he muttered.

"Number 4! Toshinori Oda!"

_Down goes froggy!_

"Number 10! Ryuhei Sasagawa!"

_One of Kazuo's bum chums! Good riddance to that cock..._

"And last for the boys, number 12! Yutaka Seto!"

_Damn! Hiroki's still alive... stupid cunt..._

"Now for the girls! We start with Number 1, Mizuho Inada!"

Kazushi nodded in remembrance of the time he had asked her out, and she had told him he was not pure enough. _Same as the rest of them... thinks she's so much better... I guess not hey Inada? Ha ha!_

"Number 2! Yukie Utsumi!"

_She was fit... Oh well, she wasa bitch too._

"Number 8! Kayoko Kotohiki!"

_Well duh!_

"Number 11! Mitsuko Souma!"

_Jesus Christ! Someone took down hardcore? Sweet!_

"Number 12! Haruka Tanizawa."

Kazushi's face screwed up. _Ugh! Feminists! Good riddance!_

"Oh, and silly me! It looks like I've left someone off the list! Girl number 4, Sakura Ogawa! That's it! 34 of you to go! Now, danger zones!"

Kazushi flipped the class list around to the map on the other side.

"From 7, H7!"

Kazushi cursed, realising that meant he had an hour to move. "Aww you tit!"

"From 9, F3, and from 11, G9!"

The speakers were turned off, and sneering, Kazushi got up and began to walk out of the farmer's association.

BOYS

**#1 Yoshio Akamatsu  
#2 Keita Iijima  
#3 Tatsumichi Ooki**  
#4 Toshinori Oda  
**#5 Shogo Kawada  
#6 Kazuo Kiriyama  
#7 Yoshitoki Kuninobu  
#8 Yoji Kuramoto  
#9 Hiroshi Kuronaga**  
#10 Ryuhei Sasagawa  
**#11 Hiroki Sugimura**  
#12 Yutaka Seto  
**#13 Yuichiro Takiguchi  
#14 Shou Tsukioka  
#15 Shuuya Nanahara  
#16 Kazushi Niida  
#17 Mitsuru Numai  
#18 Tadakatsu Hatagami  
#19 Shinji Mimura  
#20 Kyouichi Motobuchi  
#21 Kazuhiko Yamamoto**

GIRLS

#1 Mizuho Inada  
#2 Yukie Utsumi  
**#3 Megumi Etou**  
#4 Sakura Ogawa  
**#5 Izumi Kanai  
#6 Yukiko Kitano  
#7 Yumiko Kusaka**  
#8 Kayoko Kotohiki  
**#9 Yuko Sakaki  
#10 Hirono Shimizu**  
#11 Mitsuko Souma  
#12 Haruka Tanizawa  
**#13 Takako Chigusa  
#14 Mayumi Tendou  
#15 Noriko Nakagawa  
#16 Yuka Nakagawa  
#17 Satomi Noda  
#18 Fumiyo Fujiyoshi  
#19 Chisato Matsui  
#20 Kaori Minami  
#21 Yoshimi Yahagi**


	11. Chapter 11

----- H4

Yukiko slowly opened here eyes. She felt drowsy... and nauseous.

Then it suddenly hit her. She didn't know where she was! She was staring up at... greenery? Up at the leaves in a tree...

She sat bolt upright, gazing around frantically. She was in a forest that was bathed in gentle morning light. The sound of wind blowing through the leaves was a very calming sound, and the tranquil setting had a soporific effect on the disorientated girl. But she knew that something was very, very wrong. The last thing she could remember was sitting on the coach with Yumiko… and nothing after that…

Something had _definitely_ gone wrong…

Though she had taken in the setting quickly, the first thing that had caught her attention was the boy sitting only about a meter away from her. The boy was fairly tall, though to her, almost everyone looked tall. His hair fell down to the sides where it flicked up slightly, and two free strands hung lightly against his forehead. His thick dark eyebrows set emotionally above his sad eyes. Though he forced a smile as he looked up and saw Yukiko was awake, it was still evident that he had been crying.

"Hey, how do you feel?" he asked soothingly.

Yukiko slowly backed away over the soft grass before her back bit rough tree bark. "Yoji?"

Yoji bit his lip nervously. "Yukiko, are you OK?"

"Where am I?" the small girl cried helplessly. "What's going on?"

"You... don't remember anything?" Yoji asked, his expression returning to sadness, almost as if he had been expecting this reaction.

Yukiko shook her head. "We... we were on the bus and then... where is Yumiko?"

Yoji looked down at the ground, and exhaled deeply. Yukiko winced. She could tell it wasn't going to be good news. There was something deeply distressing about where they were. She had only just been on a coach trip... she wasn't supposed to be alone in a forest with Yoji... she barely knew him.

"Yumiko's... " Yoji began, the words catching in his throat, as if they were refusing to allow him to speak out loud. "She's... dead..."

"What?" Yukiko said, her voice a mere whisper, barely audible. Yoji wiped away a fresh tear.

"We… tried to save her… but…"

Yukiko's eyes widened. Something else had caught her eye. She was staring down, at her chest and legs.

Blood… she was covered in fresh blood…

"But… we couldn't save her in time…" Yoji said sorrowfully, seemingly unaware that Yukiko wasn't paying much attention to him.

Covered in blood…

_Fresh_ blood…

Yukiko screamed. A deep scream, rising up frantically like an insane beast trying to break free from an entrapment.

"Calm down!" Yoji urged soothingly, but Yukiko continued to scream, her eyes welded shut as she collapsed forward.

Yoji hung back. He simply had no idea what to do to make it better, and it was killing him inside. Yukiko was going through pain so intense that he could barely watch, and he couldn't lift a finger to help. _You can't do a thing! You worthless little..._

Yukiko's lungs finally emptied of air, as she sat hunched over. Then, her body quivered a little before she began to throw up. They hadn't eaten, so it was just stomach acid and bile burning against her throat.

Yoji reached over to the water bottles, ready for once she had finished.

She was sobbing now, her whole body jerking forward with every cry.

Never before had she felt so much pain. Yumiko was dead. Yumiko...

Her whole life had been with Yumiko. Every moment worth remembering. The time they had gone bowling, and decided to play with each other rather than against. They got a lot of funny looks as they both stepped up together with the same ball, and rolled it down. Both of them trying to roll the same ball hadn't worked that well, and they knocked over hardly any pins, but Yukiko couldn't remember a time she had laughed that much.

The time Yumiko had stood up for Yukiko back in elementary when one of the other girls was being mean.

The time Yukiko had done really badly in a test that she had spent hours revising for, and Yumiko had done really well without that much study. Yukiko had been so upset after they finished the test, knowing how badly she had done, so Yumiko had switched the papers and got the bad score.

All the good memories of everything happy, everything fun, Yumiko was in all of them, and with each new wave of vomit, and each new tear, it felt like Yukiko was loosing Yumiko more and more. Loosing a part of herself...

"It hurts Yoji!" she cried painfully.

Yoji had moved over to her now, holding the water bottle out.

She raised her tearful eyes, and reached out weakly to take it. She tipped the bottle back, and the lukewarm water flowed into her mouth. She took several gulps before handing the bottle back.

"It still hurts... it hurts so much!"

Yoji himself was still crying too._ You did this. You shot Yumiko. This is your fault!_

"I'm sorry Yukiko..." he whispered.

She didn't reply, but simple reached out her arms and placed them around him, sobbing against his chest. Yumiko had been the only person who really knew Yukiko. Because they were such a close pair, the other girls had never really got to know them, and so now that Yumiko was gone, Yukiko was totally without friends. Yoji was all that she had.

_It only hurts a little... with you..._

----- E9

_It only hurts a little... with you..._

"I'm sure we'll find him!" Mayumi said soothingly from where she stood, a few meters away.

Yoshimi was standing a few feet from her, gazing sadly out of the window of the Sightseeing Association. The building was old and stuffy, but the two girls had managed to barricade the door quite well, and they both felt a lot more secure there than they had before. But their thoughts had strayed to the other classmates...

_It only hurts a little..._

Yoshimi nodded. "Yeah, we'll... we'll find him." she agreed weakly.

Mayumi nodded enthusiastically. "That's the spirit!" _Maybe... maybe we'll find... who I'm looking for too._

"How can you be so optimistic? Even now, after Mitsu is dead?" Yoshimi asked, turning to face Mayumi.

Mayumi shrugged. "The rest of us are still alive. I guess that's something..."

"Mitsuko is dead!" Yoshimi cried. "Don't you care?"

"Of course I care!" Mayumi answered back. Though she had drifted away from Mitsuko in the past year, she had still felt sad hearing her name on the report.

But you can't be sad, oh no! Happy smiley faces! Happy smiley faces!

_"Your father will be home soon!" Ms. Tendo said with a fake enthusiasm. "So let's all look happy OK?"_

_"Why do we have to look happy, mummy?"_

_Ms. Tendo's smile didn't fade, though she seemed to be struggling to find an answer that would satisfy a child of 7._

_"Is it because he won't hit us if we smile?" Mayumi asked innocently._

Mayumi smiled. _Happy happy happy. You have to smile. All the time._

Yoshimi turned away to gaze out of the window once more. Mitsuko was gone. Now she felt so lost. How could she know what to do now? Mitsuko was dead... and she had always relied on Mitsuko to know what to do! Because Mitsuko always knew! Mitsuko was always the clever one. The one who looked after her and Hirono, and who had looked after Mayumi too the year or so ago before Mayumi had become a complete recluse.

She was like a mother to them. Other kids didn't understand. They thought Mitsuko was a bad person, but she wasn't bad! Someone probably shot her thinking she was bad! But they were wrong! Mitsuko wouldn't have killed anyone! Mitsuko was good! Mitsuko shouldn't be dead!

"Hey Yoshimi, it's OK, calm down..." Mayumi urged.

Yoshimi turned to face her again, realising that she had broken into tears again. "It's... I'm sorry... I'm fine..."

Mayumi looked around "It's a shame the gas doesn't work... what you need is some nice soup. That'll cheer you up!"

Yoshimi stared at Mayumi in confusion.

Mayumi smiled and began to walk around, evidentially searching for some soup. "Soup makes everyone feel better."

Yoshimi's jaw opened in disbelief. Was Mayumi serious? _Mitsuko is dead and you're worried about fucking SOUP?_

_No... no, it's just her way of coping. She's... just trying to do the best thing..._

Yoshimi turned once more to stare out of the window. The island stared back at her, but what she could see made it look completely deserted. "Yoji..." she whispered. "Where are you?"

----- H4

Yoji and Yukiko remained in the same position for what felt like an eternity. The pain refused to go away.

"I'm sorry..." Yoji whispered.

"You did everything you could..." Yukiko replied. Yoji didn't say anything more. There wasn't anything he could say. Admitting he was the one who had shot Yumiko would simply cause more problems... as well as the fact that he was scared to admit he had done it.

"Hey, Yoji!"

Yoji looked up, realising who it was from the familiar sound of the voice. A voice he had heard nearly everyday over the past few years. "Kazushi!"

Yoji was so overwhelmed by the sense of familiarity and security that he felt upon finally seeing his best friend, that he hardly noticed Yukiko flinch in his arms. He also didn't notice that he was hugging her instinctively closer.

"Hey Yoji boy!" Kazushi said, grinning from where he stood a few meters away. "Are you guys OK?"

There was a slight hint of suspicion in his voice, and as Yoji shot Yukiko a quick glance, he saw why.

Yoji had been stained with the blood from when Yumiko's body had fallen onto him, and Yukiko had the blood from Mitsuko. Yukiko had probably assumed the blood on Yoji was from his earlier fight with Mitsuko, but Kazushi knew none of what had happened, so as far as he knew, the blood could have been from anything.

"We're both fine." Yoji lied. "You?"

"Hell yeah!" Kazushi said enthusiastically. "You guys are the first people I've ran into! You seen anyone?"

"A few people" Yoji said hurriedly. "But let's not talk about it..."

Kazushi smiled. "Hey, sure, chill Yoji! At least we're still alive, hey? Unlike Hardcore! Still can't believe it..."

"Shut up!" Yukiko screamed explosively at him. "Just shut up!"

Niida raised his hands defensively. "Whoa! What the hell has she got stuck up-"

"Kazushi!" interrupted Yoji, trying his hardest to avoid an argument. "We missed the first report Niida... is..." his voice trailed away.

Niida nodded. "She's still alive, don't worry!"

He grinned as he sat down on the ground next to them, digging his map out of his kit bag. Yukiko released her grip of Yoji and sat down on the grass with her arms crossed. She didn't like Niida being there one bit. For one, she'd heard bad things about him. Really bad. Sure, all guys would be... guys, but Niida had apparently touched a girl in the corridor once. Sure, she didn't know who, but everyone said it was true! And he was always starting rumours about him and Chigusa.

But worse than all, it was the way he looked so... ihappy/i. Like he was pleased with himself. He made her feel uncomfortable, and if it wasn't for the fact that he and Yoji were close friends, she would want to run away. _But he's friends with Yoji, he can't be that bad, right_

"Hey, you left off Yumiko..."

Yukiko looked up at the sound of Yumiko's name, feeling as if she were about to cry again. Yoji was pointing to Niida's class list, looking at it in confusion.

"What?" Kazushi questioned, his eyes squinting at the class list. "Dude, Yumiko wasn't on the report!"

"What?" Yukiko cried, moving forward to stare at Niida in the face. "What did you just say?"

"She wasn't on the report man!"

"Oh my God..."

Yukiko slowly turned to face Yoji with an accusing glare. Kazushi turned as well. "Yoji, you said you missed the report... why did you think she was dead?"

"I..." Yoji stuttered, his voice trailing away.

----- H5

Yumiko rubbed her eyes. The last thing she could remember was falling over and... then it had all gone blank. She had woken up sprawled on the stone floor though, so she could work out that she'd knocked herself out.

The sun was bright now, and she was aching all over It must have been a while since she had blanked out, but more worrying than anything was that she was now alone. More than anything, she felt thirsty, and a little light headed still, though it was hardly the largest of her concerns.

"Yukiko?" she called through the ruins, but her weak voice simply echoed back to her. _Oh shit..._

Weakly, she stood up, and began to try walking. Her legs both felt weak, but she wasn't injured, so managed to step forward. However, as she turned around the next wall of stone, she screamed.

There was a rigid dead body curled up on the floor, with a puddle of blood underneath. "Sakura?" Yumiko gasped out loud. _Oh no... what the hell happened here?_

She moved forward to Sakura's body. The girl's face looked pained and horrified. Yumiko bit her lip, and reached forward to close Sakura's wild eyes. "I'm sorry..." she whispered. _So the game continues... how can we stop this?_

Then she suddenly remembered. There had been a gun... she had found it on the floor. It must have been Sakura's... Sakura must have been there before, and got murdered. Either that, or she had been there the whole time, hiding, and been killed after. _But where the hell are the others?_

She got up sadly, and turned around.

Once again, she screamed. There was someone standing in the doorway. Shogo Kawada, the kid who had only been transferred a month or so ago. Yumiko had never spoken to him, like everyone else. Of course, contact was inevitable in the same class, but on the rare occasions she had spoken to him, she found him arrogant and rude. He scared her, with his macho attitude, and the scar...

But now he was standing right there, gazing at her the same way he would if she ever approached him at school.

"Quiet!" he commanded. Yumiko raised her hands up and nodded, staring down in fear at the shotgun that was being raised.

"You did this?" he asked, pointing his free hand at Sakura.

Yumiko shook her head frantically. "No! Of course not!"

He sighed. "We'll see. What's your weapon?"

"Grenades... they were in my bag..."

Shogo smiled. "Oh, I found the grenades in the bag. Explain for me please, the other bag there."

"That was Yukiko's!" cried Yumiko, her eyes pleading with him. "Have you seen her?"

Shogo shook his head unemotionally. "We're the only ones here, honey. Except that Souma chick. She ain't in the mood for talking though..." he said with dry sarcasm.

Seeing the confused and somewhat scared look on Yumiko's face, Shogo chuckled. "She's dead, chill!"

"How can you be so cold?" Yumiko said in shock. "She might be Souma, but have you no respect?"

"I don't have time for respect." Shogo stated simply. "You don't get time for things like that in this game."

Yumiko glared at him with the most offensive face she could muster. She wasn't very practised at it though, so it wasn't that effective, but she didn't care. She took a step forward. "I refuse to believe that. Let me go now. I need to find my friends..."

Shogo shook his head. "No can do. I still don't know if you're hostile or not."

"What does it matter to you?" Yumiko cried. "You haven't shot me, so you obviously arn't playing! If you let me go, what harm could it do you? I'll be gone!"

"I have my motives." Shogo growled. "Don't give me a reason to pull the trigger."

"What else am I supposed to do?" Yumiko cried. "My friends could by dying right now! I have to find them, whether you'll threaten me or not!"

"Even if I shoot you? That make it worth it?"

Yumiko shot him another angry look. "Get out of my way! You arn't going to shoot me!"

"How do you know?"

"You seem to be thinking clearly! No one wants to kill! You seem to be your icharming/i self right now, so I know you won't shoot."

"You're stupid if you believe that."

"What is this Kawada? You get a gun and suddenly you think you can lecture me on psychology?" She took another step forward to Kawada, the end of the shotgun only a few meters away from her now.

"I said stay put!"

"And I said get out of my way." Yumiko hissed through clenched teeth. Yukiko could be anywhere right now, and Shogo was really pissing her off. She wasn't going to be talked down to be anyone!

Shogo stared at her for a few moments before grinning and lowering the shotgun. "I like you." he said. "You've got balls."

Yumiko stared at him in disbelief. "What is this?"

Shogo chuckled again. A deep rumbling of a laugh. "Hell, I was never going to shoot you. I'm looking to join up with someone, and I wanted to make sure you had what it'll take."

"To do what exactly?" Yumiko said, highly unimpressed. She was about ready to kick Kawada hard where it would hurt most.

"Escape." Kawada said simply.

Yumiko stared at him for a moment. "You think you're the only one with that idea?" she asked sarcastically, before walking past him.

"I'm the only one who knows how." he called after.

She stopped, and placed her arms on her hips. It was never good for people in their class to get mixed up between her and Yukiko. Yukiko was always nice to people, no matter what. Even if they were being mean to her, she'd be nice as long as she could help. But anyone who messed with Yumiko needed to be prepared to take her on. And right now, Shogo Kawada had got her angry enough to snap. It hardly ever happened. Yumiko had got really angry once when a local dog had jumped on Yukiko when they were both little and frightened her. There had been another time when Oda had insulted Yukiko. Yumiko couldn't even remember what he had said, just the anger she had felt.

But now Yukiko wasn't here. Now it was personal. Kawada was acting like he owned the place, standing in _her_ way and then being so arrogant as always! "You'd better have a good explanation for saying that..." Yumiko hissed, spinning around. "And if you don't, I hope for your sake that you don't mind hitting girls... because I'm sure as hell going to hit you..."

Kawada grinned again. "I've killed a girl before, how's that?"

"It was you!" Yumiko shrieked. "You killed Sakura!"

Kawada raised his hands. "No, I haven't killed anyone this time."

"This time? What are you talking about Kawada?" Yumiko questioned angrily, taking a threatening step towards him.

"Last time I was in Battle Royale. I shot the girl I loved."

It had been a long time since Yumiko had been totally silenced. But now, as she stood facing Kawada, she couldn't believe what she was hearing. There was nothing she could say. She didn't want to believe him. It sounded like the kind of stupid boast someone as arrogant as him would come up with, but there was something in the way he said it that made her believe. Something about the tone of his voice made her know he was being sincere.

"Oh my God..."

BOYS

**#1 Yoshio Akamatsu  
#2 Keita Iijima  
#3 Tatsumichi Ooki**  
#4 Toshinori Oda  
**#5 Shogo Kawada  
#6 Kazuo Kiriyama  
#7 Yoshitoki Kuninobu  
#8 Yoji Kuramoto  
#9 Hiroshi Kuronaga**  
#10 Ryuhei Sasagawa  
**#11 Hiroki Sugimura**  
#12 Yutaka Seto  
**#13 Yuichiro Takiguchi  
#14 Shou Tsukioka  
#15 Shuuya Nanahara  
#16 Kazushi Niida  
#17 Mitsuru Numai  
#18 Tadakatsu Hatagami  
#19 Shinji Mimura  
#20 Kyouichi Motobuchi  
#21 Kazuhiko Yamamoto**

GIRLS

#1 Mizuho Inada  
#2 Yukie Utsumi  
**#3 Megumi Etou  
**#4 Sakura Ogawa  
**#5 Izumi Kanai  
#6 Yukiko Kitano  
#7 Yumiko Kusaka  
**#8 Kayoko Kotohiki  
**#9 Yuko Sakaki  
#10 Hirono Shimizu  
**#11 Mitsuko Souma  
#12 Haruka Tanizawa  
**#13 Takako Chigusa  
#14 Mayumi Tendou  
#15 Noriko Nakagawa  
#16 Yuka Nakagawa  
#17 Satomi Noda  
#18 Fumiyo Fujiyoshi  
#19 Chisato Matsui  
#20 Kaori Minami  
#21 Yoshimi Yahagi**


	12. Chapter 12

----- H4

"I... I swear I saw her!" Yoji pleaded, his eyes jumping from Yukiko to Kazushi and back again. "I..."  
Yukiko stood up decisively. "We have to find her."

She said it with such confidence and urgency, that Yoji was beginning to think Yukiko had changed with alarming speed already. What would she be like in a day or two? But she was still shaking a bit, evidentially still her normal scared little self.

"I'll... come too." Yoji said meekly. Yukiko looked down at him, and he quickly added "unless you don't want me around... anymore..."  
"It's OK." she said. "I don't hate you. We just need to find her, and hope she's still OK." she replied, casting a quick glance around.  
"What weapons have you got then?" Kazushi asked slyly.  
Yoji reached his hand behind his back, and removed the gun from his belt. Kazushi's eyes lit up. "Whoa... nice one!"  
"It isn't nice." Yoji replied coldly, the image of Mitsuko flashing before his eyes.

Yoji stood up too, and Yukiko turned to face Kazushi. She didn't like him, and in any other situation, she'd want him to go away and leave her the hell alone. But she had already made her choice. Mitsuko might have proven that there would be people out there playing, but Yukiko wasn't going to let that deter her. If she did, Mitsuko would still have won.

"Are you going to come too Kazushi?" she asked, attempting to smile.  
Kazushi stared at her for a moment.

_What the hell? She doesn't mean it! Oh, darling sweet Yukiko, how polite to evil nasty Kazushi she is! Bitch!_

"No thanks." he replied coldly, his lips slightly apart, displaying a glimpse of his clenched teeth.

Yukiko glanced at Yoji in confusion. He was staring at Kazushi with much the same expression. "But Kazushi? We're safer in groups!"

_Evidentially not..._ Kazushi thought. _How come those two thought Yumiko was dead? Now they're in a hurry to find her? What, so they can finish what they thought they'd already done!_

Kazushi rose up slowly and shook his head. "I'd only slow you guys down or whatever."  
"You're faster than me on track!"  
Kazushi shook his head once more. "No, I've made up my mind."  
Yoji glared defiantly. "What the hell is this Kazushi?"  
"Oh Yoji!" Kazushi groaned. "Just let it be, OK?"  
"The #$?" Yoji screamed. "You seriously have to be kidding me Kazushi! I'm your best friend for #$'s sake!"

Kazushi rolled his eyes. _Great, a mood swing, just on time, that's just fantastic Yoji..._  
Simply muttering to himself, Kazushi turned and ran at full speed away from the enraged Yoji and Yukiko, who had taken a step back from the pair of them.

"Kazushi!" Yoji cried after him. "Get the hell back here! You can't leave me, not now! Kazushi?"

----- G6

Niida ran angrily through the undergrowth, slashing with his fists at branches that got in his way. _That little #$... him and Yukiko were probably #$ too..._

Eventually, Kazushi began to tire from the sprint, and collapsed on some grass, panting heavily. His whole body was aching over, but he didn't care. Kazushi had always considered that pain was there to overcome, not to make a fuss about. _You just have to get on with it..._

He reached inside his bag to retrieve some water to sooth his throat, but stopped when his class list caught his eye. He reached in and fished it out, before taking the pen, and drawing a solid line directly through Yoji's name. _You're already dead to me..._

"How far can you swim Yoji?"  
"Further than you!" Yoji replied, before giggling. He had a high pitched giggle even for an 11 year old. It was the summer before they would first go high school, and a trip to the beach had seemed to Kazushi's mother to be an excellent way to get her son to calm down about it. She'd invited his friend around too, that funny looking kid called Yoji.  
"I'll race you!" Yoji threatened, obviously taking this very seriously.  
"Where to?" Kazushi inquired apprehensively.  
"See them rocks?" Yoji asked, pointing out over the misty see. There was a cluster of rocks visible a couple of hundred meters out. Kazushi screwed up his face.  
"I'm not sure..."  
"Are you a chicken?" Yoji teased, making a clucking sound and flapping his arms.  
Kazushi turned to stare up the beach, where his mother was lying on a towel, reading some trashy romance novel and looking thoroughly bored. She didn't seem to be playing the boys the slightest bit of attention.  
"I'm no chicken!" he replied angrily, and because Yoji's expression didn't change, he added "OK, fine!" reluctantly.

Kazushi raised a sleeve and wiped his eye. _Damn, I'm sweating from that stupid run..._

It was highly unlike Kazushi Niida to ever admit even to himself that he was crying. Even one single tear required a whole series of excuses. It was definitely too hot on the island. And Kazushi was still wearing his blazer. Plus, Yoji had been acting like a dick and pissed him off. Yep, it was just sweat.

Kazushi stuffed the class list back into his bag with fury he himself wasn't totally conscious of, and removed the bottle of water he had drunk from earlier. He unscrewed the lid and tipped it back, letting his mouth fill with water...

_His mouth began to fill with water as he waved his arms frantically. Kazushi was a terrible swimmer, but he hated it when someone went on about something he was bad at, so he could hardly pass up Yoji's challenge. He'd never have lived it down. He just hoped Yoji would be a bad swimmer._

It was a good thing for Kazushi that Yoji was in fact, a very good swimmer. As they had neared the rocks, Kazushi had begun to loose control and sink beneath the waves. Yoji had been able to grab hold of him around the waist, and somehow swim both of them to the rocks, where Kazushi clambered up, coughing up water.

"Dude, you should have just said no..." Yoji said, panting as he clambered up to sit next to Kazushi.  
Kazushi was about to look up and make some come back, when a wave broke against the rocks.

Water splashed heavily against the two boys, and Kazushi shook his head angrily, shaking the water off. Yoji just sat there, staring at him and grinning. Kazushi couldn't help but crack a smile too. "You are such a dork Yoji!"  
Yoji laughed contagiously. "Coming from you?"  
Kazushi couldn't help but smile at that. The both of them were so ridiculous in their own way. It was something that had always isolated them from everyone else at elementary school, but Kazushi enjoyed having a best friend.

"We make a good pair of dorks!" he joked.  
Yoji raised his hand to his ear, struggling to hear over the sound of the sea. "Pardon?"  
"I said," Kazushi called, "we make a good pair"

"Not anymore..." Kazushi hissed under his breath. When they had got to high school, everything had changed. And since meeting Yoji in the forest, he'd realised that Yoji was now an entirely different person. "Looks like you've got better things to do. And... and so do I..."

_You're out there somewhere Takako._ Kazushi grinned. He didn't need Yoji. No, everything was great now. He was much better by himself.

----- C4

Kazuhiko Yamamoto was sitting in the north shrine, shaking his head sadly. _I'm such a fool..._

Sakura was now dead. She was dead, and he hadn't even properly got to say goodbye. Just that last lingering stare as she left the classroom, and he gripped in his hands the letter she had dropped for him.

_Meet me at the shrine. I will always love you.  
Saki xxx_

But Sakura had never turned up. The gentle wind that blew in through the Shrine's entrance was the only visitor. It was so peaceful and tranquil, that Kazuhiko could easily see why someone had chosen it as a place for a shrine.

He sniffed, and reached up his hand to wipe away his tearful eyes. _You always do this... do something wrong and can't work out what... and now she's dead because you keep messing up and don't know why..._

"I'm sorry..." Kazuhiko cried out. "I'm... I'm so sorry!"

Shou looked up in interest. Was that... Kazuhiko Yamamoto? _I'd hit that!_

Giggling, Shou moved forward in the direction from which he had heard the voice. If he'd bothered to get his map out, he would have noticed the shrine in the zone, but it wasn't like that bothered Shou much.

Strolling through the undergrowth with his derringer raised, Shou began to take in the scenery of this part of the island. _How utterly divine darling! Oh... why didn't I pack a camera! It's just the perfect opportunity for a self portrait!_

Smiling glamorously, Shou caught sight of a small brown bird on a branch a few meters away. Shou gasped with delight. "Oh sing my sweet! Sing for Auntie Shou?"

The next thing Shou heard was not the peaceful bird song he had expected. A gunshot pierced through the air, sending the bird flying away in panic. Shou whirled around with the gun raised.

Silence.

Slowly, he moved forward. Cautiously at first, then more confidentially, before breaking into a run. A small building was coming into view just up ahead, and Shou was keen to get there as soon as possible. If Kazuhiko wasn't there, at least Shou would have cover against the gunfire. It didn't seem like Kazuhiko to shoot at someone else, which must mean there was someone else there too.

Shou finally reached the building, and burst in through the entrance. He stared down at the floor and gasped in surprise. Kazuhiko lay sprawled on the floor, his brains and a lot of blood leaking in a pool beneath his head. In his contorted hand, he still held onto the revolver, facing towards the fatal bullet hole in his right temple.

Shou stared for a few moments, hearing his own heartbeat loudly in the stillness of the shrine. Then, he bent down and removed the gun from Kazuhiko's hands. "Thank you darling." he cooed, before giggling. "Hope you don't mind..."

----- H4

Yoji stood perfectly still, gazing out into the empty forest. "He... he was my best friend..." he said quietly in utter disbelief. "What did I do wrong?"  
"You didn't do anything wrong." Yukiko said back quickly and reassuringly. She was only trying to make him feel better though, as she really had no idea. Boys had always seemed so strange to her. She no longer feared them like she used to, but she still found them strange. Yoji could well have offended Niida in some way that she didn't pick up on.

_Best friend... he was my best friend..._

Yoji turned to face Yukiko, trembling as he did so. _Best... best friend..._

"We... should get going" He said, stuttering.  
"Niida's gone..." Yukiko said, trying her best to bring reality home to Yoji. It was painful in a way, but she knew that chasing after Niida when he clearly didn't want to be there wouldn't help them.

Yoji shook his head. "No... I meant we should get going back to the shrine. We need to find Yumiko."

Somehow, the loss of Kazushi had brought back Yoji's feelings of guilt with force. Yumiko was still alive, but because of him, they had left her at the shrine, considering she hadn't run away, which Yoji thought unlikely. Kazushi had left by choice, but Yumiko almost definitely hadn't. It was time to make up for his mistake. He'd lost his best friend, and he didn't want the same thing to happen to Yukiko.

Yukiko stared at him almost in wonder. She didn't know exactly what he was feeling, but she knew that Kazushi running off like that would be tearing him up. She knew that if Yumiko had left her for seemingly no reason when they had less than 3 days to live, it would have made her loose it.

"Thank you." she said as she followed him back towards the shrine, though she wasn't sure if he heard her or not.

----- C10

Mitsuru looked around, his hawk eyes surveying the ground in front of him carefully.

Before him, the trees parted, and there was a small grassy area around the tall lighthouse. The lighthouse itself would be very secure if it happened to be either empty, or occupied by friends, but that grassy area... he'd be out in the open for a few seconds. If there was anyone else nearby, it could be fatal.

He took in a deep breath and wiped his forehead. Then, gripping the gun tightly, he set off at a sprint towards the door of the lighthouse which lay around 20 meters away.

Mitsuru was a very athletic boy, though he didn't mix with the Jocks. This meant that it didn't take him long to get to the door at all, and he had soon opened it, stepped inside, and closed it again.

He smiled. _See, nothing to worry about! I can do this..._

He turned, and stared down the corridor at his new surroundings. There were some doors that led off to the left, most of which were open. Mitsuru began to walk down the corridor, glaring into each room as he passed. A thorough check could wait.

The door at the very end was the only one closed. Mitsuru stared at it suspiciously for a while, before walking forward. Slowly, he reached out his hand and gripped the door knob.

The door flew open at once, pulled open from the other side, and Mitsuru jumped back, crying out in surprise.

Hiroshi was standing in the doorway with his dagger raised and a snarl on his face. When he saw who the intruder was, he relaxed. "Yo Mitsuru."

Mitsuru simply nodded. "Anyone else here?"  
"Nah, I went through everywhere and checked when I got here."  
"Was that long ago?"  
"A bit."

There was a silence between the two boys as Mitsuru shook his head in disappointment.

"What?" Hiroshi questioned defensively, shrugging his shoulders and glaring at Mitsuru.  
"You didn't even barricade the door! Hurry up, we should do it now!" Mitsuru said. "Before someone like Motobuchi comes striding in!"  
"Yeah... well I was gonna!"  
"Sure..."  
"Shut up!"  
"No you shut up!"

BOYS  
**#1 Yoshio Akamatsu  
#2 Keita Iijima  
#3 Tatsumichi Ooki**  
#4 Toshinori Oda  
**#5 Shogo Kawada  
#6 Kazuo Kiriyama  
#7 Yoshitoki Kuninobu  
#8 Yoji Kuramoto  
#9 Hiroshi Kuronaga**  
#10 Ryuhei Sasagawa  
**#11 Hiroki Sugimura**  
#12 Yutaka Seto  
**#13 Yuichiro Takiguchi  
#14 Shou Tsukioka  
#15 Shuuya Nanahara  
#16 Kazushi Niida  
#17 Mitsuru Numai  
#18 Tadakatsu Hatagami  
#19 Shinji Mimura  
#20 Kyouichi Motobuchi**  
#21 Kazuhiko Yamamoto

GIRLS  
#1 Mizuho Inada  
#2 Yukie Utsumi  
**#3 Megumi Etou**  
#4 Sakura Ogawa  
**#5 Izumi Kanai  
#6 Yukiko Kitano  
#7 Yumiko Kusaka**  
#8 Kayoko Kotohiki  
**#9 Yuko Sakaki  
#10 Hirono Shimizu**  
#11 Mitsuko Souma  
#12 Haruka Tanizawa  
**#13 Takako Chigusa  
#14 Mayumi Tendou  
#15 Noriko Nakagawa  
#16 Yuka Nakagawa  
#17 Satomi Noda  
#18 Fumiyo Fujiyoshi  
#19 Chisato Matsui  
#20 Kaori Minami  
#21 Yoshimi Yahagi**

**32 to go**


	13. Chapter 13

----- H5

The shrine looked very different in the day. The air of mystery and the impression of the grandure of the now ruined shrine was completely lost. Now it was just a set of crumbling ruins full of pain.

"Yumiko?" Yukiko cried as she flew up the stairs with Yoji following close behind her. The respondng silence was imense.

She gazed around, realising how different the place looked in the light. Frantically, she turned to Yoji, who simply shrugged as he followed her up the stairs.

"I guess we'll just have to have a look around..." he said.  
"But why isn't she calling back?" asked the frantic Yukiko.  
Yoji gazed back sadly. "I don't know... come on..."

----- I6

"What kind of supplies?"  
"Anything you think will be useful. Don't worry, I know what I'm looking for." Replied Shogo gruffly.

Yumiko sighed. "If you expect me to help you then you've got to let me in on what you're doing!" she said angrily. "I can't help much if you're keeping all the important information to yourself!"  
Shogo grinned. "Alright then. Look for medical supplies, anything you can use as a weapon and bird whistles. Satisfied?"  
"Bird whistles?"  
Shogo nodded. "I know what I'm doing."  
"You'd better."  
"Look, do you want to save your friends or not?" Shogo growled.  
Yumiko nodded, realising that arguing with Shogo was a pretty pointless excersise. "Yes, fine! But I swear the moment it feels like you're just using me, I walk away. If I can't save them, I want to be with them."  
Shogo nodded back with minimal interest and turned to walk again. The two were heading to the residential area in hope of looting some supplies, even though Yumiko still didn't like the idea. It still felt like stealing.

She hoped that Yukiko and Yoji would go back to the shrine and find the note she had left them... though she still had no idea why they had left her there alone.

----- H5

"Nothing..." Yukiko sighed. "Her bag's gone, but I found mine. But that's it..."  
Yoji raised a reassuring hand to her shoulder. "At least we know she's still alive. We can still find her..."  
"But she could be anywhere..."  
Yoji was at a loss for how to reply. He wanted to be able to reassure her, but he didn't know how to. People skills wasn't a strong point of his.

He quietly stared around at the surroundings around the old ruin. Yumiko could be anywhere... and so could Kazushi...

----- F7

Kazushi had been keen to keep moving, as it at least gave him something to do. First thing was first... getting a decent weapon. He was #$ without one. Kazushi still hadn't quite decided if he should play, but he knew that whatever he decided, a good weapon would help him. The only problem was how to get one.

i>#$, how come Yoji gets a good weapon and I don't? How's that fair? #$... /i>

Kazushi continued to make his way through the forest, keeping an eye out for anyone, or any bodies he could scavange off.

Suddenly up ahead, a flash of blue! One of the girl's uniforms... definately. There was a girl nearby. He'd only seen it for a second, darting between the undergrowth. They were hiding... or were they just watching him? One way to find out...

He made his way to where he'd seen the flash of uniform, trying to make it clear he wasn't carying a weapon. "Who's there?" he called. At first there was no response, but then there was a sound of crunching leaves underfoot from behind him. He whirled around, only to find a girl there, pointing a gun directly at his head.

"Don't move"

----- C9

"I'm so knackered..."  
"Stop complaining!"  
"Can't we sit down a bit first?"

Mitsuru sighed. "Hiroshi, we gotta make a barricade!"  
"Do it in a min... I need a fag..." Hiroshi complained, folding his arms.  
"Stop being such a #$ dunce! If we don't make a barricade..."

"Then anyone could just stroll in?" questioned a cold voice from down the hall.

Mitsuru and Hiroshi jumped, both glancing down towards the door. Two very different looking figures were standing there. Mitsuru's eyes widened.

"Boss!"  
"Indeed." Kazuo replied dryly. "I'd advice both of you collect some furniture we can use to barricade the door with immediately."

----- E4

"This isn't going to work."  
"Of course it will!"  
"The system's nearly perfect, you'll have to think better than this!"  
"Nearly perfect? How do you figure that?"  
"Because no one has ever escaped before! What makes you think you will?"

Shinji grinned at the question. Of course it was ego, what else? Being Shinji was always enough for him. He always knew he could do what he set his mind to, because he could always better the performances of others. The fact that no one else had managed to escape was almost more encoraging than not.

But Izumi didn't seem convinced. She just stared across the table with her face set in that knowing and cynical grin of hers. "Well? What makes you think that you of all people can do it?"  
Shinji scratched his chin. "My uncle..."  
"Your uncle? Oh, well I must say that is indeed such a relief!"

Shinji stared back at Izumi. Those were hard yet somehow warm eyes of hers, not ones easy to stare directly at. She was a tough crowd, he had to admit. Of course, she had probably been there in the crowds cheering during games (not that Shinji really took time to look back at them) but now that it was really life and death, she seemed hard to convince. The sensible thing to do would be to try and get rid of her, but Shinji had a feeling that she would be a useful ally in the game. The fact that she was being so hard to convince was good. With her around, it was impossible to come up with a bad plan. If there was something he'd overlooked, she'd be there to point it out immediately. It seemed even anal people had their... uses.

She wasn't Yutaka, and she never would be. No one could be as good a friend as Yutaka, and Shinji would have gladly exchanged the capable, allert and frosty Izumi for the clumsy, blubbering and idiotic Yutaka, but he couldn't do that now.

The programme had taken Yutaka away from him. Simply for that, the bastards back at the school were going to pay, and to make sure they would pay, Shinji was going to team up with Izumi Kanai. She just didn't know that yet.

"He was in the resistance movement." Shinji said, raising an eyebrow cheerily. "If there's anyone who could bring down the programme, then it's him. Well, he ain't here, but luckily, I'm the next best thing."  
Izumi let out a little laugh, more at Shinji's egotism than anything else. "Alright..." she said, grinning gently. "Let's say we give it a shot. What happens when the system goes down? How many get to walk away? Just us or everyone?"  
"Anyone who is able to put down their weapons and walk away."  
Izumi nodded. "Right then. I say we team up and try. Maybe get some other people to join up."  
"You mean, Shuuya, Hiroki, people like that?"  
"Yes, and a few of the girls too. Satomi's clever, and personally, I'd feel safe if I had Robobitch as an ally. She'd be tricky to get on board though."  
"I could win her over..." Shinji said, raising an eyebrow playfully.  
"I doubt it, but it's your funeral." Izumi said, before raising a hand to cover her mouth. "I'm sorry... that probably wasn't the best phrase to use considering the situation..."  
Shinji smirked. "Don't worry about it. Now give me a sec, and I'll give this a try."

Izumi nodded, and Shinji started typing on the laptop. Izumi wasn't good with computers, so she probably wouldn't have understood what he was doing if she'd asked, but escape was something she could understand.

Of course, rebelling against the programme meant rebelling against the government, and for Izumi, that meant rebelling against her father too. But would her father i>really /i> want her to kill? To die? She wasn't even sure herself. He was always cooped up in his office, always stressed out for some reason or other, even though his position wasn't one of that much responsability. He hadn't had much time for Izumi, and she was only just begining to realise how little she knew of him. One thing was for certain though, if she killed, it wouldn't be simply because someone else wanted her to.

So she had been pleasantly surprised to find that Shinji Mimura was planning an escape. She'd heard that he was clever, but somehow never really believed it. He was the sort of person who got through exams by pure luck, and possibly a little cheating. All she'd ever really thought of him was: i>"Nice body, shame about the ego!" /i>

And now she was placing her trust in him. It seemed unwise, and she wasn't totally convinced, but she was willing to give it a try at least. She had her doubts, but Shinji fed on popularity, and she expected that he'd do better if he didn't know about her little doubts.

People were already dead. That meant people out there were playing. She couldn't stay in denial about it... or pretend they were suicides. i>Hardcore Souma commiting suicide? Please... /i>

No... the game was very serious. Had people got too deep into it now to ever emerge? Could they really save anyone? Izumi was willing to try... and if not...

She knew how to use a gun, and she wasn't afraid.

BOYS  
**#1 Yoshio Akamatsu  
#2 Keita Iijima  
#3 Tatsumichi Ooki**  
#4 Toshinori Oda  
**#5 Shogo Kawada  
#6 Kazuo Kiriyama  
#7 Yoshitoki Kuninobu  
#8 Yoji Kuramoto  
#9 Hiroshi Kuronaga**  
#10 Ryuhei Sasagawa  
**#11 Hiroki Sugimura**  
#12 Yutaka Seto  
**#13 Yuichiro Takiguchi  
#14 Shou Tsukioka  
#15 Shuuya Nanahara  
#16 Kazushi Niida  
#17 Mitsuru Numai  
#18 Tadakatsu Hatagami  
#19 Shinji Mimura  
#20 Kyouichi Motobuchi**  
#21 Kazuhiko Yamamoto

GIRLS  
#1 Mizuho Inada  
#2 Yukie Utsumi  
**#3 Megumi Etou**  
#4 Sakura Ogawa  
**#5 Izumi Kanai  
#6 Yukiko Kitano  
#7 Yumiko Kusaka**  
#8 Kayoko Kotohiki  
**#9 Yuko Sakaki  
#10 Hirono Shimizu**  
#11 Mitsuko Souma  
#12 Haruka Tanizawa  
**#13 Takako Chigusa  
#14 Mayumi Tendou  
#15 Noriko Nakagawa  
#16 Yuka Nakagawa  
#17 Satomi Noda  
#18 Fumiyo Fujiyoshi  
#19 Chisato Matsui  
#20 Kaori Minami  
#21 Yoshimi Yahagi**

**32 to go**


	14. Chapter 14

----- F7

"Fumiyo, check him for weapons!" Yuka said happily. She smiled at Kazushi as if the situation itself were quite pleasant. Kazushi sneered at her while his hands remained in the air.

Fumiyo's jaw dropped. "You mean like... when policemen pat people all over... everywhere?"  
Yuka nodded. "Yeah, like policemen!"  
Fumiyo shook her head. "I don't want to, that's gross!"  
"But you're the nurse's assistant! You've touched people before right?"  
Fumiyo nodded. "Yeah, people, but not Kazushi!"

"Hey!" Kazushi growled angrily. "What's that supposed to mean?"  
Fumiyo quickly averted her gaze. "I... err..."

"Fumiyo, you take the gun, OK?"  
"What?"  
"I don't mind feeling for a weapon, so you take the gun."  
Fumiyo looked panicked. "But... wha... what do I do with it?"  
"You point it, and if he tries to kill us, you shoot him!"  
Fumiyo gasped. "I can't kill him!"  
Yuka sighed, as she forced the gun into Fumiyo's reluctant hands. "Just pretend you would." she whispered into Fumiyo's ear. She nodded.

Kazushi was feeling extremely pissed off by now. The two girls obviously didn't have a clue, and Yuka, as always, was underestimating the volume of her voice. He'd heard her whisper, and knew they didn't really have any power over him. Still, it would be wise to pick the best moment to rush forward and steal the gun. He didn't want Fumiyo squeezing the trigger by accident.

Giggling to herself, Yuka moved over to Kazushi and smacked against the pockets of his trousers.

"Hey, watch it!" Kazushi complained while Fumiyo continued to point the gun feebly.

"Hey Fumiyo?" Yuka called.  
"... Yeah?"  
"How big do you think his #$ is?"

Yuka erupted into hysteric laughter at the look on Kazushi's face.  
"Don't #$ think about it!" he warned spitefully. "I will so kick your ass!"  
Yuka stuck out her tongue and continued giggling.

"Yuka?" Fumiyo asked in her timid voice. "Maybe we should let him go... I don't like him being here! You heard what he's like at school! How he looks at the girls..."

While she had been saying all this, probably without noticing at all, Fumiyo had lowered the gun to her side. In an instant, Kazushi rushed forward, snarling, his hands reaching out for the gun.  
"Fumiyo!" Yuka called out, getting up to chase after Kazushi.

Fumiyo, in her fright, had raised the gun once more before Kazushi had reached her. There had only been a couple of meters between them to begin with, and Kazushi hadn't had time to dodge out of the way when the sound of a gunshot echoed around the forest, accompanied by Fumiyo screaming.

Time froze yet moments passed. Dust settled, and Fumiyo prized her eyes open.

The gun was still extended, pointing out into the forest at the end of her rigid arms. Yuka was there in front of her, gaping down in horror at the body of Kazushi.

He was still breathing, that much was obvious, but there was a nasty bullet wound in his leg. Thankfully, Fumiyo had pressed the trigger before she'd finished raising the gun. A second later and she would have killed him.

It also looked like he'd hit his head on a rock when he had fallen over. His eyes were closed, and he looked as if he were asleep, seemingly untroubled by the new wound.

"Oh my god! You shot him!" Yuka said, horrified.  
"You told me to!"  
"Yeah, but I didn't mean it!"

Sobbing, Fumiyo dropped the gun to the floor and reached for her overnight bag.

"Wha... what are you doing?" Yuka asked in a shaken voice.  
Fumiyo didn't answer first. She unzipped her bag and reached in till she found a top that she had packed for the trip. A cute little pink thing, but it would do. She rolled it up into a ball and handed it to Yuka.

"Press it down on the wound. You need to keep pressure on it!"  
Yuka nodded, still seemingly in a state of shock. The most insuppressibly happy girl in the whole school was in shock... it wasn't like her at all. One time, Fumiyo remembered Ryuhei or someone like that had slipped a water bomb into her bag, and it had burst and soaked all her work, and she'd just laughed. Yuka never let _anything_ get to her... until now...

And Fumiyo... she too had changed. She had shot someone. It wasn't like her at all. She was the gentle girl, the nurse's aid... she was the one supposed to be helping people, not shooting them!

She fished out another top, and also took the scissors from her kit bag. At first they had seemed a stupid weapon, but they were actually going to be very useful. Quickly, Fumiyo cut a long strip from the top to tie around Kazushi's leg to stop the flow of blood and give the wound time to heal itself. It was just annoying that the clinic was already a danger zone.

"Is he going to be alright?" Yuka asked, gazing at Fumiyo hopefully.  
Fumiyo nodded. "Of course, yeah." But it wasn't the leg she was worried about. It was the concussion. She had no idea how bad it was. Fumiyo knew Tadakatsu had come in once with concussion from some sport or other... but the nurse had taken care of it herself, and Fumiyo couldn't remember what she was supposed to do!

All she could do was hope she wasn't going to be a murderer.

Fumiyo finished tying the material around his leg, keeping the pink top in place to soak up any leaking blood from the wound. She sighed. "Yuka seal of approval?"  
Yuka looked up, seeming surprised to hear her old trademark. It was almost like a wake up call. She wasn't good at medicine like Fumiyo. She wasn't that clever, or that fit, or really good with anything but cheering people up. It might not be much, but it was all she had. _Might as well try and do something right..._ She nodded. "Yeah, Yuka seal of approval you bet!"  
Fumiyo smiled.

_"We make a good pair of dorks!" he joked.  
Yoji raised his hand to his ear, struggling to hear over the sound of the sea. "Pardon?"  
"I said," Kazushi called, "we make a good pair"  
Yoji stared at him in amusement for a moment, as if he was trying to figure something out, before nodding and laughing. "Let's go back"  
Kazushi smiled. "Kay."_

Yoji reached out his hand to Kazushi, who looked at it in confusion.  
Yoji chuckled. "Dude, you're gonna need my help again to get back to the shore without drowning."  
"Oh, right, yeah!"

Kazushi reached out and grabbed Yoji's hand with his own. Yoji winked, and jumped off the rocks, and back into the sea, pulling Kazushi in after him. Once again, Kazushi felt that helpless feeling of drowning, but Yoji's arm was around his waist in an instant, their bodies pulled close together as Yoji swam for the both of them back to the shore.

Later that evening, Kazushi had gone around to Yoji's house like he did so often.

Yoji's father was a business man of some kind with a plump salary. The house wasn't a mansion, but it was still big and well furnished. Yoji was the only child, and his parents still acted like they were teenagers who had just asked each other on a date. They spent every other night out on dates it seemed, totally obsessed with each other, and Yoji was left home alone, almost as if they kept forgetting he existed..

People were always coming over. Tadakatsu and Shuuya (who Yoji had been friends with back those years ago) but Kazushi more than any other. Kazushi and his mother weren't especially close, so she didn't really mind if Kazushi went out or for how long, and Kazushi was glad to get out of the house. It wasn't a particularly nice house, stuffy and falling into disrepair. Not like Yoji's house.

The two boys were in the living room, on a white leather sofa, watching some teen comedy on the TV. A half finished pizza lay in the cardboard packaging it had been delivered in on the table with two empty glasses that had not long before contained some wine Yoji had found in the cupboard. His parents were always buying wine for each other, so they'd hardly notice a bottle gone.

Unfortunately, Yoji was very much a light weight, and was currently giggling to himself, despite the movie turning out to be quite lame.

Kazushi stared at him and chuckled to himself. Yoji sure was a funny guy to watch. And a great guy to hang out with. Not like most of the cunts at school. Most guys were annoying and stuck up, and all of the girls were annoying and stupid. The only thing to tell apart two women was which one he'd #$ first.

Yoji turned to face Kazushi. "You're my best friend..." he mused.  
"Err... thanks." Kazushi said, trying to sound touched. He wasn't too sure how to react to Yoji when he was drunk. Yeah, that was it. He was drunk... that was what was making Kazushi feel weird. Like nervous, but not... why the hell would he feel nervous? That would just be stupid... Yoji was a #$ guy after all.

"Give me a hug!" Yoji suggested, hiccupping merrily.  
"Dude, don't be a fag!" Kazushi teased.  
"Hug?" Yoji pleaded again, reaching out his arms.  
Kazushi sighed and pulled Yoji into an uncomfortable hug. "This feels dumb..." he said.  
"You're cuddly." Yoji replied. "And I..."  
Kazushi pulled out of the embrace. "What?"  
"I'm going to throw up!" Yoji announced.

Kazushi started slipping back into consciousness. The very first thing he noticed was pain. Sharp and jabbing, and it brought him back to reality harshly.

He opened his eyes, but shut them again as the light was too bright.. "Wha..." he groaned.  
Before he could speak properly, someone had raised a water bottle to his lips, and he drunk gratefully.

This time, when he opened his eyes, it was better, and he could see Fumiyo smiling awkwardly as she held up the water bottle. He was leaning against a tree and she was kneeling beside him.  
"Sorry." she said as soon as she was sure he was listening.  
Kazushi gazed around in confusion for a moment. "For... for what? Huh?"  
Fumiyo bit her lip for a moment. "What do you last remember?"  
If Kazushi was in his normal state, he would probably have told her to mind her own business and go #$ herself, but he was still dazed and suggestible. "Ran away from Yoji..."  
"OK great!" Fumiyo said, seeming oddly relieved.  
"So what were you so sorry for again?"  
"Nothing! Oh, absolutely nothing!" she said nervously.

"Oh, he's awake!" Yuka cried from nearby where she had been eating one of the bread rolls from her bag. She made her way over exitedly. "That's great! I was so scared when Fumiyo..."  
"Found you!" Fumiyo interrupted.  
Yuka grinned at her knowingly. "Yeah... when she found you. Uh-huh..."  
"What's with my leg?" Kazushi asked.  
"You got shot, but whoever it was wasn't there when we found you." replied Fumiyo, on the verge of blushing.  
Kazushi gaped at her for a moment before laughed sarcastically. "Oh... that's good... that's very good…"  
Fumiyo sighed, sure he must have remembered what really happened. "OK, fine, I'm sorry, but I didn't want..."  
But Kazushi interrupted her. "The #$... he followed me! He had a gun, I saw it! He #$ shot me! The backstabbing #$!"

Fumiyo cast a confused look at Yuka, who shrugged.

"What time is it?" Kazushi questioned, still dazed and not quite thinking like his normal self. If he had been, he'd never be talking to a couple of girls. Especially not ugly ones.  
"Five to noon." Fumiyo replied. "The second reports about to come on I guess."

Kazushi nodded. "Good..."

BOYS  
**#1 Yoshio Akamatsu  
#2 Keita Iijima  
#3 Tatsumichi Ooki**  
#4 Toshinori Oda  
**#5 Shogo Kawada  
#6 Kazuo Kiriyama  
#7 Yoshitoki Kuninobu  
#8 Yoji Kuramoto  
#9 Hiroshi Kuronaga**  
#10 Ryuhei Sasagawa  
**#11 Hiroki Sugimura**  
#12 Yutaka Seto  
**#13 Yuichiro Takiguchi  
#14 Shou Tsukioka  
#15 Shuuya Nanahara  
#16 Kazushi Niida  
#17 Mitsuru Numai  
#18 Tadakatsu Hatagami  
#19 Shinji Mimura  
#20 Kyouichi Motobuchi**  
#21 Kazuhiko Yamamoto

GIRLS  
#1 Mizuho Inada  
#2 Yukie Utsumi  
**#3 Megumi Etou**  
#4 Sakura Ogawa  
**#5 Izumi Kanai  
#6 Yukiko Kitano  
#7 Yumiko Kusaka**  
#8 Kayoko Kotohiki  
**#9 Yuko Sakaki  
#10 Hirono Shimizu**  
#11 Mitsuko Souma  
#12 Haruka Tanizawa  
**#13 Takako Chigusa  
#14 Mayumi Tendou  
#15 Noriko Nakagawa  
#16 Yuka Nakagawa  
#17 Satomi Noda  
#18 Fumiyo Fujiyoshi  
#19 Chisato Matsui  
#20 Kaori Minami  
#21 Yoshimi Yahagi**

**32 to go**


	15. Chapter 15

----- I8

There was a little bakery near the port, where old Mrs. Yamaiwa sold various produce to earn herself a living. Freshly baked bread could always be smelt in the small yet busy shop where the locals would come for their next supply of home baked wonder. Mrs. Yamaiwa was truly an amazing cook.

But footsteps outside was the only activity the bakery had heard for a long time. Shadows cast through the dirty windows was the only change the dusty floor had seen. And when the door was kicked in, landing with a thud on the floor, the first customers since the evacuation were met with an empty shop. A dead shop.

"There's nothing here..." Yumiko said in desperation. She was getting more and more annoyed with this. Shogo still hadn't found a shop with anything useful in. Of course, the only obvious place to go for what they wanted was the clinic, and that was already out of bounds.

"Just look." Shogo ordered. "There might be something."  
Yumiko stared around. There were some shelves, but the only things on them were empty glass jars. The display cabinets were empty, and even the till was broken open and desolate. There was another door, probably leading to a back entrance rather than another room, and even if it did, Yumiko doubted there'd be anything there. "This is beginning to feel like a dead end, Shogo. If we don't get anywhere soon then I need to find Yukiko."  
"You two arn't _together_ are you?"  
Yumiko's head snapped up. "Have you always been this charming?" she asked bitterly.  
Shogo smiled. "Some things never change."

Yumiko was about to say something back when she realised Shogo had frozen. "What?" she asked.

He shook his head and raised a finger to his lips to signal silence. Yumiko nodded that she understood uncertainly.

And then she heard it. A gunshot. Close.

-----

Thankfully for Tatsumichi, he was good enough at track to be able to keep a good distance between himself and Hirono. Unfortunately, she had two guns, and he didn't.

_No fair! No fair! Gang up on the new kid!_

Tatsumichi wasn't the kind of guy who got scared. When something bad happened, you just got over it and got the #$ on with it. Life won't live itself, that's what Tatsumichi had always believed. But there was something about being chased by someone shooting at you that was enough to make anyone scared shitless.

Tatsumichi was nearing a corner of a street. As he flew around the corner, a bullet exploded onto the brick wall beside him. Hirono was close behind, and the bitch was getting better aim all the time!

Now he wasn't just scared. He was pissed off too. _How the #$ dare she? If I had a gun too, I'd #$ show her!_

He had to find somewhere to hide soon. Hirono wasn't showing any signs of giving up! _Damn, she's faster than she looks!_

-----

Shogo whirled around, and as he did so, something fell out of his pocket. He didn't notice as he raced to the door with his shotgun.

Yumiko stooped down to pick up the crumpled piece of paper on the floor. She unfolded it, and gasped. The first thing she noticed was the corner.

One of the corners had a picture of a butterfly on it.

_"I hope you like it!" Yukiko said eagerly.  
Yumiko smiled. "I'm sure I will!"_

She undid the neatly tied ribbon and pulled away the wrapping paper. Inside was a cute little desk set. A pad of paper, a pencil and pen, pencil sharpener and eraser. All of them had a picture of a butterfly on it.

"I wasn't sure what to get, sorry!" Yukiko explained bashfully. "But I saw it... and it was so pretty. So elegant and practical too! It reminded me of you."  
Yumiko smiled, her eyes wide. "Thank you Yukiko, it's wonderful!"

"Shogo?" Yumiko said, her voice at normal volume, yet extremely forceful.  
"Shh!" Shogo replied.  
"Shogo!" Yumiko cried.  
He swung around. "Quiet! If they hear you, they'll come here next! Do you want to die?"  
"Do you?" she replied with gritted teeth, holding up the sheet of paper.  
Shogo seemed unable to respond for a moment. "I had to" he replied.  
"No you didn't..." Yumiko shrieked. "You bastard!"

_"OK, but I need to leave them a note. In case they come back to look for me." Yumiko said.  
"Fine" Shogo said. "But try make sure it won't give away where we're going to anyone who stumbles across it."  
"I'll try." Yumiko replied. She didn't know how she could write it so only Yukiko and Yoji would understand it, but she was the type of person who wouldn't give up just because something looked difficult._

"Y and Y,  
Leave the shrine where Hardcore came in and keep going that direction. We've gone shopping.  
Y"

It sounded really stupid, and she would have felt better if she'd made it more obvious, but it would have to do.

She wandered out of the shrine in the direction Shogo had gone. He was standing on the stairs that Souma had chased them up only the night before.  
"You done?" he asked.  
She nodded. "Yeah, left it with our kit bags."  
Shogo nodded. "I need to take a leek. I'll be back in a min."

And with that, he walked towards a group of bushes to one side of the shrine. Yumiko quickly looked around. They were alone. All she could do was wait for Shogo to finish...

"You went back and took it!" Yumiko cries through tears of anger. "This whole time you've been bullshitting me!"  
Shogo shook his head defiantly. "Think about it! I couldn't afford people following us! You might trust them but I don't! Too many of us would be inconspicuous! We'd never be able to escape!"  
"You don't know!" Yumiko shrieked. "You never tried!"  
"It was in your best interests!" he shouted back.  
"How can I believe that? How can I believe anything you say? You betrayed my trust Shogo! You were probably going to wait to the end and kill me then!"  
"Think this through Yumiko!"  
"Shogo!"

There was something about the tone of Yumiko's voice, and the look in her eyes that had been different as she screamed his name. She didn't sound angry, or confused. She sounded scared. She was _warning_ him...

Shogo realised too late.

There was a horrible feeling of intense jabbing pain in his right shoulder. He faltered and dropped the shotgun as Tatsumichi leaped past and into the shop.

Tatsumichi knew he had to disable everyone who was there quickly before he could finish them off. He had to get a gun. Shoot the bitch! _Shoot the bitch! Shoot all the fuckers before they shoot you! Life won't live itself!_

There was a girl. Tatsumichi darted forward, and then stopped dead in his tracks.

Yumiko had shrunk into a corner of the stop, her hands raised defensively and her face alive with fear.

Tatsumichi gaped. "You?"  
Yumiko looked shocked. Of course, that was hardly the reaction she'd been expecting. "What?"  
Tatsumichi looked panicked now. Almost like he wasn't sure what to do, whereas before, the malicious look on his face had been intense.

Yumiko glanced over at Shogo in panic, hoping he wasn't badly hurt.

On the contrary, he had already raised up the shotgun in his left hand, and was about to fire.

Yumiko knew that Tatsumichi had attacked them to kill. She'd seen the same look in Mitsuko's eyes as she ascended those stone stairs after them. Some people had to die, for the good of others. That's what she was being led to believe. Mitsuko had to be killed. Tatsumichi too.

Or was that the program? That's exactly what they wanted people to think! That wasn't justice! That was just an excuse for people to win! People like Shogo Kawada, the back stabbing liar!

What was it Yukiko had said? i>"None of us should have to kill!" /i> She had been right. _There's always a choice! Always!_

_Enough!_

"Down!" she screeched, reaching out and pulling Tatsumichi towards her. They fell on top of each other on the floor as the shotgun bullet fired into a shelf above them, an empty glass jar exploding and showering the shop floor in glass.

"Yumiko!" Shogo cried in alarm. "What the hell are you doing!"  
"Stop!" Yumiko shouted back. "No more killing!"

Tatsumichi couldn't see the machete. He had no idea where it had gone when he'd been pulled to the ground by Yumiko. _Saved my life... she saved my life..._

All in all, he was now in a state of utter confusion. He didn't know what to do, what to say, or anything! Everyone was taking pot shots at him except Yumiko. Her and Shogo seemed to be enemies, so what were they doing together? And where the hell was...

Yumiko screamed.

Hirono had appeared, walking calmly past the shop window towards the door, two guns raised in her hands and a sickening look on her face. Almost like _enjoyment_.

"Shoot her!" Tatsumichi cried out to Shogo.  
"No!" Yumiko cried. "No killing!"

Angrily, she jumped forward, pulling the shotgun from Shogo's hand. Though he was stronger than her, he was wounded, and she could use both hands. "Yumiko, don't be crazy!"

Hirono was already in the doorway.

Yumiko wasn't sure what the hell to do. She didn't know if she could fire a shotgun. Her hand wasn't even on the trigger! There was no time.

Yumiko closed her eyes and screamed as a gun fired.

She gasped as the shotgun recoiled in her grasp. Looking up to the doorway, she saw Shogo crouching, trying to get the grenades from his bag. There was blood, more blood, and she couldn't see Hirono.

Next, she turned to look down at the shotgun itself. Her hands were still clasped around the barrel. But there was another hand. Tatsumichi's arm was around her waist, his hand on the trigger. Hirono was no where to be seen. There was blood...

"What happened?" Yumiko shouted at him.  
"She's wounded, she pulled back." he replied quickly.  
Yumiko nodded, and stood up shakily, running for the door she had originally assumed would lead to a back entrance. Tatsumichi got up too, following after her like a lost puppy as she pulled the door open and ran through.

It lead to an alley way at the back of the shop. With the shotgun in hand, Yumiko sprinted for one end. Tatsumich ran after her. "What about Shogo?"  
"He can take care of himself!" Yumiko shouted angrily, the tears of anger once again flowing down her cheeks.

She'd been used. He'd wanted her around just so he could win it himself, and she'd been letting him do it. She wasn't too thrilled about Tatsumichi following her, but at least he seemed to have lost his weapon.

Yumiko liked to think of herself as a nice person, but as she left the alley, and continued down another road, running as fast as she could, she didn't feel even the slightest amount of guilt for leaving Shogo. He'd taken her away from Yukiko, and now it was up to her to find her again.

-----

Shogo had seen Yumiko and the other kid run through the door. It was probably inevitable. Yumiko had fought him every inch of the way, and a little misunderstanding and she was ready to run. Give herself back to the game. He had obviously over estimated her. He was better off without her. She'd only have got him killed.

And that other kid following her. He wasn't sorry to see him go either. He didn't think Yumiko would survive long. If you were willing to ally with people who were trying to kill you, that was generally a bad sign. Shogo knew what it was like to play. He _knew_ what it felt like, and Yumiko didn't.

She'd get no where without his experience! She'd regret it later!

"Damn it" Shogo muttered as he pulled the pin of the grenade out with his teeth. His right arm was completely immobile. No matter. He could still aim well enough with his left.

And there she was again, the spiky haired girl, coming back for more. She'd probably just ducked around the corner to regain her strength after that wound. Shot in the lower left arm or something. Not that it mattered to him. Shogo would soon take her out.

He raised his left hand.

She saw too soon for him. Quickly, she raised her guns and fired at Shogo's left arm. Shogo cried out in pain as the bone smashed and muscles ripped. It fell flimsily to his side, totally useless just like his right.

The grenade fell neatly into his lap. He stared down at it, already knowing that the spiky haired girl would have run for it.

So it came down to this? How pathetic. Shogo thought he could do better than that. He'd won before, and this time he had experience. He should have gotten to the end at least, if not won again. He was supposed to beat the system! Supposed to make someone escape!

That would be the ultimate revenge for Keiko. She wouldn't have wanted him blowing up government buildings or assassinating the leaders. She hated the violence. No, he would bring the program through granting someone else the ability to survive it. The program would have been beaten. Keiko would have been avenged.

Not anymore. Now it was over. Just like that...

_Keiko... I'm sorry..._

Hirono was far away enough by now to stop running. As soon as she did, almost as if on cue, she heard the grenade explode somewhere behind her. She didn't know where the ugly new kid or the Kusaka dyke had got to, but she had more important worries than them now.

It was just a scrape. Sure, she'd love to believe that, but it was a little large to be a scratch. Quite a bit of skin and tissue were gone from her lower left arm. She supposed she should be thankful it had missed the bone. She had no doubt shotguns could do a lot of damage, especially at that range.

Sure, she was so lucky. That didn't make it any less crap.

There was a lot of blood... it probably looked worse than it was. The clinic was nearby but in a danger zone. It was possible someone had got supplies from the clinic and moved on elsewhere. It would take too long to search the residential area, so Hirono decided to go and check the sightseeing association. It was worth the chance.

"This just isn't turning out to be a good day." she mumbled as she glanced at her watch. _Huh, nearly time for the report._

BOYS  
**#1 Yoshio Akamatsu  
#2 Keita Iijima  
#3 Tatsumichi Ooki**  
#4 Toshinori Oda  
#5 Shogo Kawada  
**#6 Kazuo Kiriyama  
#7 Yoshitoki Kuninobu  
#8 Yoji Kuramoto  
#9 Hiroshi Kuronaga**  
#10 Ryuhei Sasagawa  
**#11 Hiroki Sugimura**  
#12 Yutaka Seto  
**#13 Yuichiro Takiguchi  
#14 Shou Tsukioka  
#15 Shuuya Nanahara  
#16 Kazushi Niida  
#17 Mitsuru Numai  
#18 Tadakatsu Hatagami  
#19 Shinji Mimura  
#20 Kyouichi Motobuchi**  
#21 Kazuhiko Yamamoto

GIRLS  
#1 Mizuho Inada  
#2 Yukie Utsumi  
**#3 Megumi Etou**  
#4 Sakura Ogawa  
**#5 Izumi Kanai  
#6 Yukiko Kitano  
#7 Yumiko Kusaka**  
#8 Kayoko Kotohiki  
**#9 Yuko Sakaki  
#10 Hirono Shimizu**  
#11 Mitsuko Souma  
#12 Haruka Tanizawa  
**#13 Takako Chigusa  
#14 Mayumi Tendou  
#15 Noriko Nakagawa  
#16 Yuka Nakagawa  
#17 Satomi Noda  
#18 Fumiyo Fujiyoshi  
#19 Chisato Matsui  
#20 Kaori Minami  
#21 Yoshimi Yahagi**

31 to go


	16. Chapter 16

----- G5

Noriko was sitting in a comfortable armchair in a pleasantly furnished house that she had found while walking around. She did feel bad for breaking into someone else's house, but she figured there wasn't much else she could do, considering the situation.

And there she had spent her time hiding. She'd had some sleep, and then found some tinned food. Unfortunately, the stove wouldn't work, but there was tinned fruit, so she was able to have a nice meal. Probably a lot nicer than anyone else was having.

Then there had been the first report. Noriko had felt horrible for everyone who had died, but Haruka and Yukie especially. Her friends. Dead. Just like that.

And so she had cried by herself in that cosy little house.

Around an hour had passed since the first report, and Noriko was feeling better. Only a little. Everyone who had died was still of course dead, but there was nothing she could do to change that. There wasn't even anything she could do to stop more people being killed. At least... if there was, she hadn't thought of it yet.

Sighing, she looked up.

And nearly screamed.

There was a face at the window.

----- H5

Yukiko and Yoji left the shrine in silence. They both knew that conversation would probably only make things harder. They continued walking east, a direction that seemed as good as any.

Yukiko walked behind Yoji, treading in his shadow as they moved across the dry earth. Always walking in someone's shadow. Was that what Yoji was becoming? Her replacement for Yumiko?

_No... Yoji's a friend... but no one could ever replace Yumiko._

Yukiko and Yumiko, the two of us, always the two of us!

But she's not here anymore...

Yukiko gazed up at the back of Yoji's neck. He seemed to be keeping his eyes ahead to make sure they didn't run blindly into anyone. _How typical of me... letting someone else do the important stuff... I was always holding Yumiko up and now I'm holding Yoji up..._

"I... there's so much!"

"Maybe I should order for you."

Yumiko grinned cheerfully, and Yukiko tried her hardest to stop herself blushing from embarrassment. It was always like this...

"Oh, they do noodles with vegetables! You like that!" she said, gazing down the menu. "And mushroom soup!"  
"Erm... OK" Yukiko replied unsurely. "I'll have... erm... that then."  
Yumiko nodded and raised her hand in the air to attract the attention of the waiter.

He sidled over with a pen and small clipboard in hand. "Yes?" he asked politely.  
"Let's see... a 14, 2 35s and an 11" Yumiko said.  
"And to drink?"  
"2 78s please"  
Yukiko stared in bewilderment. She knew each order had a number, but it was still all so confusing. She didn't know what she'd do if she didn't have Yumiko. Probably starve to death...

"Yoji, I'm thirsty." Yukiko said. Yoji's own bad was long lost, but they'd found Yukiko's at the shrine.  
He turned. "Sure."

A moment later, he'd taken out one of the bottles of water and handed it to her. She drunk it thirstily, not minding the lukewarm taste.

After she'd finished drinking what she wanted, she handed the bottle back and looked up at her new friend. "Yoji?"  
"Hmm?" he grunted as he put the bottle back in Yukiko's bag and zipped it up.  
"Do you know how to order things in a restaurant? Like... those ones where everything on the menu has a number?"  
Yoji gazed at her in confusion. "Erm... yeah. I don't get it... is this a metaphor or something?"  
"I don't know..." Yukiko sighed, "I was never any good with stuff like that. I was just thinking about this time when Yumiko had to order for me because I got so confused."  
Yoji reached out a hand and placed it on her shoulder. "She'll be fine." he said reassuringly.  
"That's now what I mean"  
"Oh..."

Yukiko took a deep breath. "It reminded me of the class list, that's all. The horrible list on the back of the map with everyone's name next to a number like we're just items instead of people. Normally, I'd ask Yumiko to tell me which things were good and which were bad, but I don't know without her... I don't know who we can trust. Sure, lots of people at school are nice, and I can't imagine any of them killing! But that's just it... they _are_ killing, and I don't know why!"  
For a moment, Yoji just stared at her. "... that's a pretty obscure connection..."  
Suddenly, without any warning, Yukiko burst into tears. "I know! I know!" she cried. "I'm trying to be sensible, I really am, but I'm no good without Yumiko! I can't do anything by myself! I'm trying!"  
Yoji quickly put his arms around her comfortingly, as he had no other ideas of what to do.  
"I'm useless!" Yukiko continued to sob into Yoji's chest. "I'd have given up hope at the beginning if Yumiko hadn't been there... and if you hadn't been there... Mitsuko would have... she'd..."  
"Yukiko, it's OK..." Yoji said soothingly. "I'll look after you, I promise."  
"I'll only be holding you up!" Yukiko replied sadly.

Yoji pulled away from the embrace to look Yukiko in the eyes. "I'm glad you're here." he said. "If you hadn't been, I'd have fallen apart by now. I can't do this by myself either. So let's do it together, OK?"

Yukiko smiled weakly. Maybe it wasn't so bad to need people... especially if they needed you back. "OK" she murmured. "... thank you Yoji."  
Yoji grinned. "Come on then. Let's keep going."

----- G5

Finally! He'd found someone!

"Hey Noriko! Let me in!" Keita cried happily.

Noriko raised a hand to her beating heart. It had been such a shock. She hadn't heard him come up to the window at all... but at least it was Keita! He was friends with Shinji and Yutaka, so he couldn't be all that bad. He played on the team with Shuuya. She'd heard about him and Shinji falling out, but she didn't really know what it was all about, and besides, boys were like that. They fell out with each other all the time.

She quickly walked towards the front door, and Keita ran around the side of the house to greet her.

Noriko picked the keys up from the table in the hall near the door that she'd found earlier. The door was unlocked and swung open, and there was Keita, smiling with wide eyes. Something about his expression made Noriko feel a little nervous.

"Noriko! I'm so glad I found you!" Keita exclaimed. "I've been all alone..."  
"Me too!" Noriko replied, "but now neither of us are alone!"  
Keita nodded enthusiastically. "So, you'll let me stay with you?"  
"Sure!" Noriko answered. "I couldn't turn you away, could I? We all need company at a time like this..."

Keita gazed at her suspiciously. She was _just_ like the rest of course. Shinji had told them, hadn't he? Lies! Lies about Keita! And everyone believed them... no friends for Keita since then, oh no... was she up to something? Was she telling the truth? _Wait and see... wait and see..._

The two continued to stand awkwardly in the doorway, till Noriko said: "There's tinned fruit in the kitchen. Would you like some?"  
Keita nodded. "Yeah, thanks Noriko!"  
She smiled and walked into the kitchen. Keita cast a quick glance around his shoulder before he stepped into the house and closed the door. No one was following him... good...

Inside, the house was friendly enough, though Keita was wise enough to know that things that looked friendly could often be something else.

But they still couldn't come for him. He was with someone... couldn't hurt him now, Noriko would see.. oh yes. No more hurting.

Noriko could see him out of the corner of her eyes... he was lingering in the doorway to the kitchen. There was something quite uneasy about him, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it. He'd seemed so happy to find her, and while Noriko had been happy too... he had seemed just a little _too_ happy.

Keita smiled. Noriko looked a little worried... but no matter. He was with her now. She wouldn't go away... oh no...

_I won't let her go away!_

-----

Yoji and Yukiko could see a house not far off. They had been walking for a while now, and combined with their exhaustion from the night before, they decided it would be best to stop. Yumiko might have had the same idea, and while they really didn't have any way of knowing where she was, anything was worth a shot.

They approached the small gate in the little white fence that bordered the garden at the front of the house. The garden itself was overgrown, and looked as if it had been that way since before the evacuation.

The two of them walked cautiously towards the front door. The house was looking larger now, and more foreboding. Yukiko held back a little, letting Yoji take the lead. He was nervous himself, every step closer making him want to turn back. What if there was someone else inside? Someone who would attack them like Mitsuko?

_But it might be Kazushi... it might be Yoshimi..._

Yoji raised his hand, and pushed the door.

Noriko gasped loudly as she heard the door open. Keita... he hadn't locked it as he came in! She looked up, but Keita wasn't there anymore. The doorway to the kitchen was empty. So... maybe he had opened the door. That in itself lead to more questions. _Why did he go outside?_

Slowly, Noriko moved forward to the door of the kitchen. The front door was just to the left and...

Something caught her eye to the right. Keita was crouching behind an old grandfather clock, shaking, his eyes alive with fear.

Noriko knew what that meant.

Slowly, she turned her head to look down the corridor the other way.

The door was wide open, and there stood two figures.

Yoji and Yukiko...

Noriko wasn't sure what to make of Yoji. She didn't know him well, but he was friends with Kazushi, and going out with Yoshimi, which didn't seem like a good combination to her. But Yukiko... her and Yumiko were both really nice. Friends with Shuuya and Yoshitoki too... so...

Why were they together?

"Hi..." Noriko said, still unsure of what to make of the situation.  
Yukiko smiled. "Noriko! Hi! And... Keita right?"

Keita was still crouching behind the clock, and at the sound of his name, he simply nodded. It seemed he had calmed down, though the look of terror on his face was still evident.

"Are you two... together?" Noriko asked.  
Yukiko nodded. "I'm looking for Yumiko, and Yoji's looking for Kazushi and Yoshimi, so we're looking together!"  
Noriko relaxed. They were just as scared and worried as she was. Noriko was beginning to think that everyone was going through exactly the same thing... and that the past really didn't matter anymore. Everyone was the same in the end.

"There's some tinned fruit, me and Keita were about to have some... do you want some too?"

BOYS  
**#1 Yoshio Akamatsu  
#2 Keita Iijima  
#3 Tatsumichi Ooki**  
#4 Toshinori Oda  
#5 Shogo Kawada  
**#6 Kazuo Kiriyama  
#7 Yoshitoki Kuninobu  
#8 Yoji Kuramoto  
#9 Hiroshi Kuronaga**  
#10 Ryuhei Sasagawa  
**#11 Hiroki Sugimura**  
#12 Yutaka Seto  
**#13 Yuichiro Takiguchi  
#14 Shou Tsukioka  
#15 Shuuya Nanahara  
#16 Kazushi Niida  
#17 Mitsuru Numai  
#18 Tadakatsu Hatagami  
#19 Shinji Mimura  
#20 Kyouichi Motobuchi  
#21 Kazuhiko Yamamoto**

GIRLS  
#1 Mizuho Inada  
#2 Yukie Utsumi  
**#3 Megumi Etou**  
#4 Sakura Ogawa  
**#5 Izumi Kanai  
#6 Yukiko Kitano  
#7 Yumiko Kusaka**  
#8 Kayoko Kotohiki  
**#9 Yuko Sakaki  
#10 Hirono Shimizu**  
#11 Mitsuko Souma  
#12 Haruka Tanizawa  
**#13 Takako Chigusa  
#14 Mayumi Tendou  
#15 Noriko Nakagawa  
#16 Yuka Nakagawa  
#17 Satomi Noda  
#18 Fumiyo Fujiyoshi  
#19 Chisato Matsui  
#20 Kaori Minami  
#21 Yoshimi Yahagi**

31 to go


End file.
